Senior Spacecraft Structural Engineer

Astro Digital; Littleton (CO); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401k matching

Floating holidays

PTO

Job summary

Astro Digital in Littleton, CO seeks a Senior Spacecraft Structural Engineer to lead static and dynamic analyses for its bus designs. You will interpret LV environments, design vibration test plans with notched spectra, and build FEA models using FEMAP for NASTRAN stress work.

The role includes mentoring junior engineers, travel to test facilities, and collaboration with CAD interfaces. Hybrid work in Littleton with competitive pay and benefits.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or closely related field.
• 7–20 years of experience as a stress analyst/structural engineer in aerospace.
• Proficient in static/dynamic analysis and FEA for spacecraft.
• Experience with NASTRAN and vibration testing.
• Willingness to travel ~3 times per year.

Responsibilities

• Perform static and dynamic structural analyses for Astro Digital bus designs.
• Develop spacecraft vibration test plans and notched spectra.
• Build and verify FEMAP models; conduct NASTRAN stress analyses.
• Lead testing activities at spacecraft level and mentor juniors.

Skills

Static & dynamic structural analysis

FEMAP modeling

NASTRAN stress analysis

Vibration testing/plan development

Finite element methods

Leadership/mentoring

Travel to test facilities

CAD interaction (SolidWorks, Onshape)

Education

BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

MS in engineering structures (preferred)

Tools

FEMAP

NASTRAN

SolidWorks

Onshape

Job description

Astro Digital designs, builds, and operates a diverse range of small satellite systems supporting space-based turnkey missions for several business applications, including earth observation, communications, in-orbit demonstrations, risk reduction, science, and exploration. Astro Digital is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with roughly 100 employees and infrastructure around the globe.

Position Summary

The Senior Spacecraft Structural Engineer is responsible for static and dynamic structural analysis of all classes of Astro Digital bus. As Astro Digital’s mechanical analysis team grows, we are seeking senior-level experience to bolster core competencies and assist in shepherding less experienced engineers.

The ideal candidate is a meticulous, self-motivated mechanical engineer with deep experience in structural analysis of space structures. He or she would be comfortable interpreting launch vehicle (LV) environments to design spacecraft vibration test plans with notched spectra, building finite element models of spacecraft in FEMAP, performing stress analysis for all launch vehicle loads via NASTRAN, performing bolt margin analyses, and creating reduced FEA models for coupled loads analysis (CLA) by the launch provider. The ideal candidate also has vibration testing experience and the confidence to lead such testing at the spacecraft level.

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or closely related field
• 7-20 years of experience as a stress analyst/structural engineer in the aerospace field
• Proficiency building FEA models for static and dynamic analysis of spacecraft and subsystems
• Comfort executing NASTRAN solutions
• Experience planning and executing structural vibration testing
• Self-motivated work ethic with a desire to learn new aspects of structural analysis and mechanical testing
• Willingness and ability to teach less experienced engineers analysis methodology
• Good written, verbal, and virtual communication skills
• Willingness to travel ~3 times/yr to test facilities

Preferred Qualifications

• An MS in engineering structures, solid mechanics, stress analysis, or related field is strongly preferred
• Proficiency with FEMAP or similar pre/postprocessor
• Ability to create reduced FEA (Craig Bampton) models per LV provider’s requirements for CLA analysis
• Comfort interacting with CAD systems (Solidworks, Onshape, etc.) to create structural models
• Familiarity with stress analysis for acoustic and shock environments
• Experience analyzing composite structures
• Familiarity with standards such as NASA-STD-7000 (GEVS), NASA-STD-5001, NASA-STD-5017, NASA-STD-5020, SMC-S-016, AIAA-S-114
• Familiarity with SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare requirements
• Possesses a solid understanding of thermal environments and effects

Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance options, 401k matching, 10 floating holidays, 5 sick days, and 3 weeks (15 days) of PTO per year.

This position requires access to export-controlled commodities, technical data, technology, software, and services. U.S. citizenship, U.S. legal permanent resident status, or protected person status under 22 CFR §120.15 and 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3) is required.

JobType: Full Time
SalaryRange: $135k – 180k annually depending on experience level
Location: Hybrid (minimum 1-2 days/wk onsite) in Littleton, CO