Senior Spacecraft Structures Engineer - Own the Hardware

Approach Venture; Golden (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical

Dental

Vision

Disability

Life Insurance

Parental Leave

Vacation

Holidays

Job summary

Approach Venture in Denver, CO is seeking a Structural Engineer to own spacecraft structural hardware design, analysis, and qualification from early requirements through flight. You will lead structural decisions, build and validate FEMs, and work hands-on with hardware to ensure reliability in launch and orbit.

Join a small, technically focused team, mentor engineers, and contribute to testing, standards, and production readiness with equity and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of structural analysis and flight hardware development experience.
• Experience owning spacecraft hardware through development stages.
• Proficiency with FEA tools such as Nastran, Femap, ANSYS, Abaqus.
• Knowledge of launch loads, margins, and verification processes.

Responsibilities

• Own spacecraft structures, mechanisms, and electromechanical assemblies from concept through production and flight.
• Translate system requirements into structural designs, load cases, analysis plans, and qualification requirements.
• Lead structural analysis across the program, including modal, quasi-static, random vibration, sine, shock, buckling, and thermo-elastic analysis.
• Develop, refine, and post-process finite element models for components, subsystems, and integrated spacecraft assemblies.
• Calculate and document structural margins of safety across launch and on-orbit environments.
• Define structural loads, environments, factors of safety, and verification requirements.
• Lead vibration and structural test campaigns for flight hardware.
• Define instrumentation approaches using accelerometers, strain gauges, and other structural test hardware.
• Correlate analytical models with test data and improve model fidelity based on results.
• Support detailed mechanical design, CAD development, tolerance analysis, and design reviews.
• Work with manufacturing teams and suppliers to develop structures and joints that are producible, inspectable, and testable.
• Create and review engineering drawings using GD&T and aerospace design practices.
• Support structural dispositions, failure investigations, and design changes during development and test.
• Establish structural analysis methods, documentation standards, and engineering best practices.
• Mentor less-experienced engineers and provide technical guidance across the broader mechanical team.

Skills

Structural analysis

FEA tools

CAD

GD&T

Mentorship

Communication

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Nastran

Femap

ANSYS

Abaqus

Job description

Approach Venture in Denver, CO is seeking a Structural Engineer to own spacecraft structural hardware design, analysis, and qualification from early requirements through flight. You will lead structural decisions, build and validate FEMs, and work hands-on with hardware to ensure reliability in launch and orbit.

Join a small, technically focused team, mentor engineers, and contribute to testing, standards, and production readiness with equity and comprehensive benefits.