Spacecraft Packaging & Layout Engineer II

Katalyst Space; Broomfield (CO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation bonus

Stock options / long-term incentives

Comprehensive medical, vision, dental

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Job summary

Katalyst Space is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to design and release spacecraft hardware, lead top-level CAD layouts, and coordinate packaging across avionics, propulsion, GNC, and thermal systems. You will perform hand calculations and FE analyses, support from concept through flight, and work with manufacturing to ensure build-ready designs.

The role requires 3–4 years in high-reliability mechanical design, strong CAD skills, and a solid understanding of vibration, dynamics, and thermal

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• 3-4 years experience designing mechanical hardware for high-reliability systems.
• Proficient in 3D CAD and top-level layouts.
• Strong fundamentals in statics, dynamics, vibration and thermal effects.
• Experience with hand calculations and FEA for flight environments.

Responsibilities

• Support spacecraft and payload mechanical layout from early concept through detailed design, integration, qualification, and flight.
• Develop and maintain top-level CAD assemblies, vehicle envelopes, coordinate systems, keep-out zones, interface geometry, and configuration-controlled layouts.
• Design primary and secondary spacecraft structures, brackets, panels, mounts, and interfaces.
• Perform and review hand calculations and finite element analyses; correlate with test data.
• Drive packaging trades across avionics, harnessing, propulsion, GNC, thermal hardware, payloads, mechanisms, and structures.
• Partner with manufacturing to support prototype and flight builds, resolve drawing issues, improve DFM/DFA, and ensure released designs are fabricable.
• Contribute to design reviews, failure-mode analysis, mass-property tracking, configuration control, and flight-readiness decisions with documentation.

Skills

Spacecraft hardware

FEM analysis

Hand calculations

3D CAD

Cross-functional

Vibration analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

CATIA

Creo

Job description

Katalyst Space is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to design and release spacecraft hardware, lead top-level CAD layouts, and coordinate packaging across avionics, propulsion, GNC, and thermal systems. You will perform hand calculations and FE analyses, support from concept through flight, and work with manufacturing to ensure build-ready designs.

The role requires 3–4 years in high-reliability mechanical design, strong CAD skills, and a solid understanding of vibration, dynamics, and thermal