Principal Mechanical Engineer - Flight

As our Principal Mechanical Engineer - Flight, you will lead the design and development of detailed 3D CAD models and fabrication drawings that bring our rocket vehicles flight hardware to reality. From internal frames and load-bearing mounts to fully integrated flight assemblies, you will ensure that every mechanical system is efficiently designed for minimal mass, ease of integration, manufacturability, and robust flight performance.

Own Core Responsibilities

• Own complex major flight assemblies to complete stages end-to-end.
• Serve as a technical leader within the mechanical team and mentor junior engineers.
• Work closely with structures, propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing to drive successful flight outcomes.
• Lead a technical team of 4–10 people to deliver consistent mechanical and structural design results.

Produce Clear Deliverables

• Manage and deliver all levels of design reports, designs, documentation, analyses, etc.

Impacts and Outcomes

• Own and Lead Flight Hardware Design: Develop and own 3D CAD models of primary flight hardware (Liquid Rocket Vehicle Stages, Payload Fairings, Complete Fluid Systems, etc.), taking assemblies from concept through release.
• Drive Structural & Mass Optimization: Perform hand calculations and FEA to validate designs, define load paths, and ensure compliance with stress and mass requirements
• Technical Leadership: Guide design standards, mentor junior engineers and designers, and contribute to architectural decisions impacting overall vehicle configuration.
• System-Level Collaboration: Work cross-functionally with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing to define and ensure interface control (bolting patterns, harness pass-throughs, thermal interfaces, tolerance stacks, etc.) meets system-level requirements.
• Manufacturing Integration: Lead design reviews with internal teams and vendors. Ensure hardware is DFM/DFA compliant and proactively resolve producibility risks.
• Produce Flight-Ready Documentation: Deliver BOMs and detailed component and assembly drawings that follow GD&T standards and aerospace best practices, ensuring unambiguous build and inspection criteria.
• Own Configuration & CAD Integrity: Maintain part libraries, revision histories, interface control documentation, and BOM accuracy within PLM systems, ensuring the engineering team operates from a single source of truth.

What You Bring to the Team

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Required Skills

• Relevant 12+ years of experience in mechanical design for high-performance systems, preferably in the aerospace industry
• Demonstrated ownership of major assemblies from concept through flight or production