Spacecraft Mechanical Design Engineer
Star Catcher · Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Power the future of Space at Star Catcher
Star Catcher is building the first energy grid in space to power the orbital economy.
Today’s spacecraft must generate all of their own power, which caps what they can do and how long they can operate. But what if they could “plug” into a grid, the way buildings do on Earth? Instead of cables and outlets, Star Catcher is building the technology to wirelessly beam energy to spacecraft’s existing solar panels when and where they need it.
Be an early member of a team building an entirely new energy infrastructure at scale to power the next frontier.
Star Catcher Industries, Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida, has an opportunity for a Spacecraft Mechanical Design Engineer to support the development of space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, its orbital power grid. This role will be responsible for design, detailing, and configuration control of mechanical systems and components used on spacecraft, satellites, and other space-related technologies.
Key Responsibilities
- Design mechanical components and assemblies in Autodesk Inventor to meet program requirements.
- Create fabrication and assembly drawings using GD&T, and process them through drawing review and release.
- Maintain the spacecraft CAD configuration, including assembly structure, part numbering, and revision state, and keep the stowed and deployed envelopes of deployable structures current as the design changes.
- Track spacecraft mass properties against the allocated budget, and report growth and margin at each design review.
- Perform tolerance stack-up analysis to ensure proper hardware fit and alignment, utilizing worst-on-worst, RSS, and statistical analysis methods where appropriate.
- Resolve mechanical interfaces and clearances across structures, mechanisms, thermal, optical, and avionics hardware, and drive fit issues to closure.
- Partner with machinists and suppliers on producibility, tolerance, and finish, and support make-versus-buy and fabrication planning for owned parts.
- Design enclosures to mount circuit cards and other electrical components. Coordinate with the Electrical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, and Structural Analysis teams to ensure enclosure design protects sensitive electronics for launch and space environments.
- Support hands-on build and integration of flight hardware, ground support equipment, and test hardware. Disposition fit, clearance, and installation issues found at the bench.
- Maintain drafting templates, standard parts libraries, and modeling practice so that models and drawings released by the team stay consistent.
- Write technical documentation supporting the analysis, build, test, and integration of hardware to meet program requirements. Document and present technical data providing justification for design choices.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical, structural, or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
- Minimum three years of experience designing, drafting, and releasing flight hardware, ground support equipment, or test hardware in an aerospace manufacturing environment or other relevant industry experience.
- Experience producing production-quality parametric models, fabrication drawings, and assembly drawings with GD&T per ASME Y14.5 in Autodesk Inventor or equivalent.
- Experience working in a managed CAD data environment, including revision control, release states, and engineering change processing.
- Experience maintaining a spacecraft or vehicle mass properties record, including mass, center of gravity, and inertia reporting against an allocated budget.
- Hands-on experience in a shop, lab, or cleanroom environment supporting hardware build, integration, or environmental testing.
- Creative problem-solving skills, with the capability to develop innovative solutions to advanced engineering challenges.
- Willingness to follow company standards and procedures.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's or PhD degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
- Experience with deployable structures and their stowed and deployed configurations.
- Experience designing sheet metal, machined, composite, or bonded assemblies.
- Structural hand calculations or finite element analysis sufficient to size parts ahead of formal analysis.
- Tolerance stack-up analysis using worst-on-worst, RSS, and statistical analysis methods.
- CAD automation using iLogic, Python, or equivalent for templates, parts libraries, and drawing checks.
- Familiarity with regulations and standards relevant to space missions and operations.
- Ability to effectively communicate and work in a multidisciplinary team setting while prioritizing tasks, multiple projects, and personnel.
Help us deploy and scale space infrastructure that will drive our utilization of space forward! We offer a highly competitive benefits package including access to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) retirement plan, life insurance, and paid parental leave, in addition to other benefits.
Star Catcher is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Star Catcher is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
All offers of employment at Star Catcher are contingent upon results of a thorough background check and your ability to provide proof of eligibility to work in the US.
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.