Spacecraft Propulsion Systems Engineer II — Systems Lead

Rocket Lab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

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Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Spacecraft Propulsion Systems Engineer II to own propulsion development for our Space Systems team. The role focuses on system-level and component-level ownership, modeling, design, and testing across civil, commercial, and defense programs.

You will perform conceptual and detailed calculations, lead engineering activities, gather requirements, and mentor teammates while delivering high-performance propulsion solutions within a fast-paced aerospace

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline.
• 2+ years of experience in propulsion system development or other high‑performance field.
• US citizenship is required, due to program requirements.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own development of new or existing products or systems, acting as technical lead to guide team through end-to-end development process.
• Conceptual and detailed performance calculations, systems modelling, analysis, and system designs.
• Requirements gathering, definition, and management. Systems engineering activities and leadership within the team.
• Test planning, setup, instrumentation, execution, and data analysis.
• Communicate with project stakeholders internal and external to the team.
• Technical risk-based decision making to the right/best solution when faced with an engineering challenge.
• Project management including schedule building and maintenance, identifying top priority items, tasking of other engineers and technicians, and communication of status to leadership and other teams.
• Mentorship and coaching of people within the team on technical and professional development.
• Defining and maintaining standard of excellence for their team through documentation, training, coaching, and review of others’ work.
• Contributing to engineering process development and documentation at Rocket Lab related to areas of experience.

Skills

Systems engineering

Python

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Master’s or PhD in engineering

Tools

Jama

NX CAD

Teamcenter

National Instruments data acquisition

Simulink/Simscape

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Spacecraft Propulsion Systems Engineer II to own propulsion development for our Space Systems team. The role focuses on system-level and component-level ownership, modeling, design, and testing across civil, commercial, and defense programs.

You will perform conceptual and detailed calculations, lead engineering activities, gather requirements, and mentor teammates while delivering high-performance propulsion solutions within a fast-paced aerospace