Structures Engineer II - Spaceflight Vehicle Design

Inversion; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Inversion is seeking a Structures Engineer II to own cradle-to-grave development of primary and secondary structures on a novel reentry vehicle. You will drive design from concept through qualification and production, working with the Mechanical team reporting to the Director of Mechanical.

You will collaborate with analysis engineers to refine sizing, margins, and loads, while ensuring manufacturability, reliability, and integration with subsystems, payloads, and deployment systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, a related field, or equivalent technical experience.
• Typically 2+ years of professional experience developing hardware for aerospace, defense, or similarly demanding applications.
• Strong mechanical design skills with an emphasis on structural interfaces, packaging, high-load environments, and mass optimization.
• Strong proficiency in 3D CAD software (NX, CATIA, Solidworks, or similar).
• Familiarity with structural analysis tools (ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, FEMAP, or equivalent) with an emphasis on modal and static structural analysis.
• Proficiency in creating detailed engineering drawings with GD&T and other technical documentation.
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of primary and secondary vehicle structures, including load paths, joints, attachments, and structural interfaces.
• Own structural concept development from early architecture through hardware realization, balancing mass efficiency, robustness, manufacturability, and reliability.
• Collaborate with analysis engineers to refine sizing approaches, margin strategy, and environmental loads.
• Drive structural integration across vehicle subsystems, including payload, avionics packaging, propulsion interfaces, and deployment/separation systems.
• Support TPS-to-structure integration concepts, including attachment approaches, tolerances, and assembly considerations.
• Generate and review CAD drawings and product definition to release high-quality hardware.
• Support prototype and flight hardware builds through manufacturing coordination and testing.
• Conduct trade studies and make decisions in a fast-paced development environment.
• Present progress, risks, and paths forward in design reviews and cross-functional forums.

Skills

Mechanical design

Verbal and written communication

Fast-paced environment

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering or related

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

NX

CATIA

SolidWorks

ANSYS

Abaqus

NASTRAN

FEMAP

Job description

Inversion is seeking a Structures Engineer II to own cradle-to-grave development of primary and secondary structures on a novel reentry vehicle. You will drive design from concept through qualification and production, working with the Mechanical team reporting to the Director of Mechanical.

You will collaborate with analysis engineers to refine sizing, margins, and loads, while ensuring manufacturability, reliability, and integration with subsystems, payloads, and deployment systems.