Structural Engineer - Spacecraft

Approach Venture; Golden (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical

Dental

Vision

Disability

Life Insurance

Parental Leave

Vacation

Holidays

Job summary

Approach Venture in Denver, CO is seeking a Structural Engineer to own spacecraft structural hardware design, analysis, and qualification from early requirements through flight. You will lead structural decisions, build and validate FEMs, and work hands-on with hardware to ensure reliability in launch and orbit.

Join a small, technically focused team, mentor engineers, and contribute to testing, standards, and production readiness with equity and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of structural analysis and flight hardware development experience.
• Experience owning spacecraft hardware through development stages.
• Proficiency with FEA tools such as Nastran, Femap, ANSYS, Abaqus.
• Knowledge of launch loads, margins, and verification processes.

Responsibilities

• Own spacecraft structures, mechanisms, and electromechanical assemblies from concept through production and flight.
• Translate system requirements into structural designs, load cases, analysis plans, and qualification requirements.
• Lead structural analysis across the program, including modal, quasi-static, random vibration, sine, shock, buckling, and thermo-elastic analysis.
• Develop, refine, and post-process finite element models for components, subsystems, and integrated spacecraft assemblies.
• Calculate and document structural margins of safety across launch and on-orbit environments.
• Define structural loads, environments, factors of safety, and verification requirements.
• Lead vibration and structural test campaigns for flight hardware.
• Define instrumentation approaches using accelerometers, strain gauges, and other structural test hardware.
• Correlate analytical models with test data and improve model fidelity based on results.
• Support detailed mechanical design, CAD development, tolerance analysis, and design reviews.
• Work with manufacturing teams and suppliers to develop structures and joints that are producible, inspectable, and testable.
• Create and review engineering drawings using GD&T and aerospace design practices.
• Support structural dispositions, failure investigations, and design changes during development and test.
• Establish structural analysis methods, documentation standards, and engineering best practices.
• Mentor less-experienced engineers and provide technical guidance across the broader mechanical team.

Skills

Structural analysis

FEA tools

CAD

GD&T

Mentorship

Communication

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Nastran

Femap

ANSYS

Abaqus

Job description

Structural Engineer - Own the structural design, analysis, and qualification of next-generation spacecraft hardware

Denver, Colorado | On-site

Opportunity Summary

This role will own spacecraft structural hardware from early requirements and detailed design through analysis, qualification testing, production, and on-orbit operation. You will also serve as a technical leader for structural analysis across the program, defining methods, load cases, test requirements, and modeling standards used by the broader engineering team. The work spans primary and secondary structures, mechanisms, integrated assemblies, structural dynamics, finite element analysis, environmental testing, and model correlation. You will remain hands-on with your own hardware while helping establish the structural engineering practices needed as the vehicle and team scale.

About Us

We are a venture-backed space technology company developing advanced modular spacecraft systems designed to operate, connect, and reconfigure in orbit. The team is small, highly technical, and progressing from flight demonstration toward operational systems. Engineers have broad ownership and work directly on hardware that must survive launch, operate reliably in space, and support increasingly capable spacecraft architectures.

Job Duties

• Own spacecraft structures, mechanisms, and electromechanical assemblies from concept through production and flight
• Translate system requirements into structural designs, load cases, analysis plans, and qualification requirements
• Lead structural analysis across the program, including modal, quasi-static, random vibration, sine, shock, buckling, bolted-joint, and thermo-elastic analysis
• Develop, refine, and post-process finite element models for components, subsystems, and integrated spacecraft assemblies
• Calculate and document structural margins of safety across launch and on-orbit environments
• Define structural loads, environments, factors of safety, and verification requirements
• Lead vibration and structural test campaigns for flight hardware
• Define instrumentation approaches using accelerometers, strain gauges, and other structural test hardware
• Correlate analytical models with test data and improve model fidelity based on results
• Support detailed mechanical design, CAD development, tolerance analysis, and design reviews
• Work with manufacturing teams and suppliers to develop structures and joints that are producible, inspectable, and testable
• Create and review engineering drawings using GD&T and aerospace design practices
• Support structural dispositions, failure investigations, and design changes during development and test
• Establish structural analysis methods, documentation standards, and engineering best practices
• Mentor less-experienced engineers and provide technical guidance across the broader mechanical team

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related technical discipline
• 5+ years of structural analysis and flight hardware development experience
• Experience owning spacecraft, launch vehicle, aerospace, or similarly demanding hardware through multiple stages of development
• Strong proficiency with structural FEA tools such as Nastran, Femap, ANSYS, Abaqus, or comparable platforms
• Hands-on experience with modal, quasi-static, random vibration, buckling, and joint analysis
• Strong understanding of launch loads, on-orbit environments, factors of safety, and margin assessment
• Experience developing and executing structural dynamics or environmental test campaigns
• Experience correlating analytical models with physical test data
• Strong CAD capability including 3D modeling, detailed drawings, and tolerance stack-ups
• Working knowledge of GD&T and ASME Y14.5
• Ability to make technically sound structural decisions with limited oversight
• Strong communication skills across mechanical, systems, electrical, manufacturing, and test disciplines

Preferred Experience

• Experience analyzing composite structures, including laminate behavior, joints, and material characterization
• Proficiency with Python or MATLAB for structural analysis, automation, or test data processing
• Familiarity with NASA, GEVS, SMC, or similar spacecraft structural verification standards
• Experience with fatigue, fracture mechanics, or damage-tolerance analysis
• Familiarity with tools such as NASGRO
• Experience analyzing spacecraft avionics, electronics, PCB, or PCBA assemblies
• Proficiency with Onshape, SolidWorks, NX, Creo, or comparable CAD platforms
• Experience with separation systems, deployables, or precision mechanisms
• Experience with thermo-elastic analysis or coupled structural and thermal environments
• Hands-on R&D experience prototyping, testing, and iterating novel hardware
• Experience owning a spacecraft structural subsystem through design, qualification, production, and flight
• Previous experience in a startup or rapid hardware development environment

Why Join Us

• Own spacecraft structures from clean-sheet design through qualification and on-orbit operation
• Lead structural analysis methods and standards across a growing spacecraft program
• Work across design, FEA, structural dynamics, environmental testing, manufacturing, and flight hardware
• Join a small engineering team where individual contributors have significant technical ownership
• Help shape how spacecraft structures are designed, analyzed, tested, and qualified as the company scales
• Equity participation through stock options
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Short- and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Three weeks of paid vacation
• Ten or more paid holidays annually

Compensation Details

$120,000 - $160,000