Spacecraft Dynamics Engineer I — Vibration & Loads

Cedarparktexasedc; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Parental leave

Educational reimbursement

Short-term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace in the Austin area seeks a Structural Dynamics Engineer I (Spacecraft) to own analysis, modeling, verification, and validation of spacecraft dynamic environments and structural responses during launch and spaceflight.

You will collaborate with structures, mechanisms, thermal, and systems teams across the development lifecycle, with opportunities to mentor junior engineers and contribute to design decisions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Structural Engineering or related field.
• 1+ years of hands-on spacecraft/launch vehicle structural dynamics experience.
• Fundamental understanding of structural dynamics principles.
• Experience with Craig-Bampton model reduction and coupled loads analysis.
• Proven ability to derive dynamic environments and support environmental testing.
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and influencing cross-functional design decisions.
• Proficiency in Nastran/Femap or equivalent FE tools.
• Experience with Python or MATLAB for data processing/analysis.
• Solid understanding of FFT, PSD, and filtering concepts.

Responsibilities

• Perform structural dynamics analysis including modal, frequency response, and random vibration simulations.
• Support definition and verification of dynamic environments (random vibration, shock, acoustics).
• Conduct test-analysis correlation using vibration, acoustic, and shock test data.
• Contribute to environmental test planning, instrumentation recommendations, and post-test data review.
• Analyze component-level responses under dynamic loads (solar arrays, antennas, mechanisms).
• Deliver clear technical documentation and presentations.

Skills

Craig-Bampton model reduction

Coupled loads analysis

Nastran/Femap

Python (pandas/numpy/scipy)

MATLAB

FFT/PSD analysis

Mentoring juniors

Cross-functional collaboration

Spacecraft structural dynamics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical/Structural Engineering

Master's degree in Structural Dynamics or related

Tools

Wave6

Pyyeti

PyNastran

IMAT

Git

Job description

Firefly Aerospace in the Austin area seeks a Structural Dynamics Engineer I (Spacecraft) to own analysis, modeling, verification, and validation of spacecraft dynamic environments and structural responses during launch and spaceflight.

You will collaborate with structures, mechanisms, thermal, and systems teams across the development lifecycle, with opportunities to mentor junior engineers and contribute to design decisions.