Mechanical Test Engineer, Deployable Antenna Structures

Ready to make connectivity from space universally accessible, secure and actionable? Then you’ve come to the right place!

E-Space is bridging Earth and space to enable hyper-scaled deployments of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services. We are building a highly-advanced low Earth orbit (LEO) space system that will fundamentally change the design, economics, manufacturing and service delivery associated with traditional satellite and terrestrial IoT systems.

We’re intentional, we’re unapologetically curious and we’re 100% committed to innovate space-based communications and deliver actionable intelligence that will expand global economies, protect space and our planet and enhance our overall quality of life.

We are looking for a hands-on Mechanical Test Engineer to own ground testing of the physical unfolding of E-Space’s large deployable antenna structure. You will work with deployable structures, deployment mechanisms, test fixtures, and gravity-offload equipment: building test setups, operating hardware, measuring its motion and forces, and investigating unexpected behavior.

You will turn hardware observations into evidence that the antenna can deploy reliably and reach its required geometry. This role calls for mechanical intuition, careful experimentation, and the ability to distinguish the behavior of the antenna from effects introduced by the ground test equipment.

On-site in Arlington, Texas. Hands-on bench work and test facility presence are required. Some travel between sites expected.

What you will do:

• Own the antenna assembly’s mechanical deployment test program, from test requirements and procedures through fixture development, test execution, data reduction, and reporting.

• Design, build, and improve gravity-offload and support fixtures for large flexible structures. Characterize rig friction and compliance so their effects can be separated from antenna behavior.

• Set up and run physical deployment tests. Measure force and torque profiles, boom tip trajectories, deployment timing, and deployed shape using appropriate instrumentation and optical measurement methods.

• Investigate unexpected motion, inconsistent deployment, and geometry outliers through inspection, measurements, and controlled follow-up tests.

• Establish deployment repeatability against defined requirements, and characterize sensitivity to sequencing, temperature, and lubricant state where required by the test plan.

• Work with the deployment mechanism team to characterize actuator output and locked-state stiffness and backlash.

• Coordinate subsystem testing and assembly-level deployment testing with the responsible engineers.