Spacecraft Structural Analyst — Equity & Impact

Cowboy Space Corporation; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Holidays

Parental leave

Relocation assistance

Office lunch

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corporation is seeking a Structural Analyst to own the full lifecycle of structural prediction and data for the team, from load definition through flight-ready models. You will derive load cases, perform static strength and fatigue analyses, and guide design practices with documented methods.

You will work with head of analysis, fluids, propulsion, GNC, and test operations to enable confident test and flight decisions, moving quickly and iterating to deliver reliable structures for

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience performing structural analysis for flight vehicles, propulsion systems, or other high-performance hardware.
• Strong fundamentals in solid mechanics, structural analysis, stability, and materials behavior, including plasticity, fatigue, and fracture with demonstrated experience determining static strength, stability, and fatigue analysis. Knowledgeable of damage-tolerance and crack-growth methods.
• Proficiency with commercial FEA tools for linear and nonlinear structural problems.
• Ability to substantiate results with classical hand calculations and to explain and defend method selection, not only tool output.
• Proficiency with Python or MATLAB for analysis automation, post-processing, and tool development.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Responsibilities

• Own the full lifecycle of structural prediction and data for the team — from load definition and first-order sizing through correlated, test-anchored models used to clear hardware for flight.
• Derive and maintain the structural load sets: quasi-static and dynamic load cases, pressure and thermal loads, and coupled loads across ground handling, ascent, and on-orbit environments.
• Perform static strength and stability analysis — yield and ultimate margins, buckling, joint and fastener analysis, bearing and bolt-group checks, and local detail stress.
• Perform fatigue and durability analysis: spectrum development, cumulative damage, and life prediction for reusable and cycled hardware.
• Perform fracture and damage-tolerance analysis with crack growth where applicable, including initial flaw assumptions, critical flaw sizes, and inspection intervals. Provide guidance to the broader team for best design practices to preclude the necessity for these analyses.
• Develop the tools, scripts, templates, and checklists the team uses to perform, document, and verify structural analyses so results are consistent, reviewable, and repeatable across engineers.
• Select and apply material allowables, accounting for temperature, environment, process, and material form; maintain the allowables the team analyzes to.
• Define test objectives and pass/fail criteria; support proof, static, modal, vibration, and life testing with predictions, and perform data analysis and model correlation.
• Perform data reduction for structural test data, and correlate analytical predictions against measurements.
• Support anomaly investigation and root cause analysis, including failure reconstruction, post-test and post-flight inspection, and disposition of nonconformances.

Skills

Structural analysis

Fatigue analysis

Fracture mechanics

Python

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field

Tools

ANSYS

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Cowboy Space Corporation is seeking a Structural Analyst to own the full lifecycle of structural prediction and data for the team, from load definition through flight-ready models. You will derive load cases, perform static strength and fatigue analyses, and guide design practices with documented methods.

You will work with head of analysis, fluids, propulsion, GNC, and test operations to enable confident test and flight decisions, moving quickly and iterating to deliver reliable structures for