Spacecraft Structures Design Lead — Flight Hardware

Fruition Group US; Colorado; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Fruition Group US seeks a Principal Spacecraft Structures Design Engineer to lead the design and development of primary and secondary spacecraft structures from concept through flight qualification and production. You will own critical structural architectures and mentor multidisciplinary teams.

The role requires deep expertise in lightweight aerospace structures, metal and composite systems, and flight hardware development, with collaboration across systems, thermal, propulsion, avionics, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering; Master’s preferred.
• 10+ years of experience designing aerospace/spacecraft structures.
• Proven track record delivering flight hardware from concept to production.
• Deep understanding of structural design, load paths, and lightweight structures.
• Experience with metallic and composite structures.
• Proficiency with CAD tools NX, CATIA, Creo, or SolidWorks.

Responsibilities

• Lead primary and secondary spacecraft structures design through concept to flight readiness.
• Own architecture decisions balancing performance, mass, manufacturability, schedule, and cost.
• Develop CAD models and release packages for flight hardware.
• Perform structural sizing, load path development, material selection, and optimization.
• Collaborate with analysis teams for FEA, hand calculations, and test correlation.
• Define structural requirements and verification plans for payloads.
• Support environmental testing including vibration, thermal vacuum, and acoustic campaigns.
• Lead design reviews (SRR to CDR) and mentor junior engineers.

Skills

Leadership

Mentorship

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Master's preferred

Tools

NX

CATIA

Creo

SolidWorks

Job description

Fruition Group US seeks a Principal Spacecraft Structures Design Engineer to lead the design and development of primary and secondary spacecraft structures from concept through flight qualification and production. You will own critical structural architectures and mentor multidisciplinary teams.

The role requires deep expertise in lightweight aerospace structures, metal and composite systems, and flight hardware development, with collaboration across systems, thermal, propulsion, avionics, and