Senior Spacecraft Systems Engineer I

Rocket Lab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 144,000 - 206,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA seeks a Senior Systems Engineer I – Spacecraft Design to lead the mechanical formulation of new satellite systems and bus configurations for civil, national security, and commercial missions.

You will manage budgets, requirements, and provide design oversight from concept through production, with CAD models, tests, and interface definitions guiding the spacecraft’s development.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering; or other technical discipline.
• 5+ years of engineering experience in the aerospace industry.
• Experience supporting satellite and/or spacecraft development programs.
• Experience with CAD modeling and drawing.
• US citizenship is required, due to program requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead satellite mechanical engineering formulation supporting business development and opportunity capture.
• Develop high‑performance and lightweight satellite bus configurations, structures, and mechanisms.
• Develop concepts and satellite configurations for high value science and interplanetary missions.
• Define deployment mechanisms on a modern satellite system/bus.
• Develop and maintain mass and mechanical technical budgets and requirements verification techniques.
• Structural, mechanism, and packaging analyses including hand‑calcs and FEA.
• Test methods and data analysis (structural, thermal, vibe).
• Lead mechanical development from conceptual design to production, test, and operation.
• Create and maintain product definition through CAD, production drawings, and test/operations procedures.
• Assist with program management including development schedules, vendors, and budgets.
• Develop interface specifications, CONOPS, and other design documents.

Skills

CAD modeling

Satellite design

Systems engineering

Requirements definition

Test planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering

Tools

JAMA

DOORS

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA seeks a Senior Systems Engineer I – Spacecraft Design to lead the mechanical formulation of new satellite systems and bus configurations for civil, national security, and commercial missions.

You will manage budgets, requirements, and provide design oversight from concept through production, with CAD models, tests, and interface definitions guiding the spacecraft’s development.