Spacecraft Propulsion Engineer I (Valves)

firefly; Town of Texas (WI); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Educational reimbursement

Parental leave

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a propulsion hardware engineer to design, qualify and deliver high‑performance valves, regulators and actuators for Alpha, Eclipse and related space systems.

You will own the development lifecycle, perform analyses and lead cross‑functional teams to meet ambitious performance and cost targets while ensuring robust qualification and testing.

Qualifications

• BS in Aerospace Engineering or related engineering discipline.
• Internship experience in a valve or fluid system design-related role.
• Strong fundamentals in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, structural analysis, materials, and processes.
• Experience with fluid system sizing, valve design and operation, instrumentation.
• Ability to manage complex projects and work in a collaborative environment.
• Interest in advancing 'newspace' and cost-effective solutions.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate extreme ownership of hardware.
• Conceptualize, design, develop and deliver propulsion components to high performance systems.
• Responsible for entire development lifecycle and production support as the technical expert.
• Own a combination of Firefly developed and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTs) valves, regulators and actuators.
• Prepare content for and lead CoDRs, MRR, PDRs, TRRs, data reviews and CDRs.
• Author and execute qualification, and acceptance test plans with hands on hardware problem solving.
• Work to standardize solutions across programs and product lines.
• Improve mission cadence by identifying and implementing cost saving and risk reduction measures.
• Lead cross-functional teams of analysts, manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, supply chain representatives, and test engineers to deliver tested hardware on time.
• Resolve non-conformances and implement design changes to improve product yield and manufacturability.
• Work with the program teams to develop hardware upgrades in alignment with ambitious performance and cost goals.
• Develop simulation-based design methods and validate using subscale and full-scale testing.
• Lead failure investigations to determine root cause and implement mitigations.
• Qualify existing and new product lines following guidance from SMC-S-016 and S-080 as applicable.
• Manage multiple projects and competing priorities.

Skills

Fluid mechanics

Valve design

Analytical modeling

CFD/FEA analysis

Project management

Collaborative work

Education

BS in Aerospace Engineering

Internship in valve/fluid design

Tools

GD&T

DFM

Instrumentation

Materials & processes

Job description

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

At Firefly, we believe that building a reliable and inexpensive launch vehicle requires the most reliable, production efficient valves available. On the fluid components team, we design, build, test, and qualify high-performance, precision fluid components tailored to the specific needs of our Alpha launch vehicle, Eclipse launch vehicle, Blue Ghost lunar landers, and Elytra spacecraft. Our team of responsible engineers own their products for the entire product lifecycle; from initial conception through qualification and handoff to the production team.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Demonstrate extreme ownership of hardware
• Conceptualize, design, develop and deliver propulsion components to high performance systems
• Responsible for entire development lifecycle and production support as the technical expert.
• Own a combination of Firefly developed and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTs) valves, regulators and actuators
• Prepare content for and lead CoDRs, MRR, PDRs, TRRs, data reviews and CDRs
• Author and execute qualification, and acceptance test plans with hands on hardware problem solving
• Work to standardize solutions across programs and product lines
• Improve mission cadence by identifying and implementing cost saving and risk reduction measures
• Lead cross-functional teams of analysts, manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, supply chain representatives, and test engineers to deliver tested hardware on time
• Resolve non-conformances and implement design changes to improve product yield and manufacturability
• Work with the program teams to develop hardware upgrades in alignment with ambitious performance and cost goals
• Develop simulation-based design methods and validate using subscale and full-scale testing
• Lead failure investigations to determine root cause and implement mitigations
• Qualify existing and new product lines following guidance from SMC-S-016 and S-080 as applicable
• Manage multiple projects and competing priorities

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• BS in Aerospace Engineering or related engineering discipline
• Internship experience in a valve or fluid system design-related role.
• Exceptional comprehension of engineering fundamentals including fluid mechanics, heat transfer, structural analysis, materials, and processes.
• Strong understanding of fluid systems aspects such as fluids systems sizing, valve design and operation, instrumentation, flexible element design & integration and fluid fittings
• Skilled in creating analytical/numerical models of engineering devices and processes.
• Ability to successfully manage complex projects.
• Works well in a collaborative, fast paced, multidisciplinary environment.
• Demonstrated interest in advancing 'newspace'.
• Self-motivated with minimum direction required.
• Ability to creatively develop economical solutions.

Desired

• Served as a Responsible, Manufacturing or Test engineer for an aerospace development project in a fluids related subsystem.
• Component test experience.
• Proficient with GD&T
• Proficient with DFM
• Proficient with FEA and/or CFD analysis
• Knowledge of high-pressure, cryogenic, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems
• Experience with valve and regulator design
• Experience with liquid oxygen or other cryogenic operations
• Experience modeling fluid networks
• Experience with rapid development techniques for hardware

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status