Skip to content

Mechanical

Staff Structures Engineer

Relativity Space logoRelativity Space$164,000–$246,000/yrLong Beach, CaliforniaPosted 7mo ago

How this pay compares

This posting states $164k–$246k a year. Open mechanical engineer jobs in California post a median of $158k a year, the middle half $130k–$180k, across 266 jobs that state their pay, so this one is above the middle half of what they post.

Mechanical engineers in California: pay by town and employer

About the job

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up.

Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together.

Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us. ## About the Team: The Interplanetary Sciences Program was established to expand access to scientific exploration across our solar system.

Its mission is to make planetary research faster, more affordable, and more capable than ever before by rethinking how science missions are designed, built, and operated . The program aims to enable scientists to send instruments to distant worlds without decades of development or prohibitive costs.

By creating a sustainable model for interplanetary exploration, we are transforming space science from an occasional event into a continuous process of discovery that accelerates knowledge, broadens participation, and inspires the next generation of explorers. ## About the Role As a Staff Structures Engineer within the Interplanetary Sciences Program at Relativity Space, you will own the design, development, analysis, build, and verification of primary and secondary spacecraft structures, from concept through flight.

You will be directly responsible for delivering flight-ready hardware that meets mission performance, reliability, and cost objectives.

This position requires a highly motivated, hands-on engineer who thrives in ambiguity, can execute with autonomy, and is eager to take on end-to-end ownership, from early architecture and trade studies to prototype testing to final flight qualification. ## Essential Duties and Responsibilities - Lead the design, analysis, and development of spacecraft structures from concept through flight - Perform structural and dynamic analysis (FEA, hand calcs, margins, etc.) to validate designs across all mission phases - Produce engineering drawings with required specifications for manufacturing - Collaborate with all subsystems to ensure structural integrity and system-level integration. - Manage fabrication and assembly of structural components, including supplier coordination, material procurement, and flight hardware acceptance testing - Design and execute environmental testing, load testing, and flight verification campaigns ## About You - Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field - 6+ years of experience designing, analyzing, and delivering aerospace primary or secondary structures - Demonstrated ability to take structural systems from blank-sheet concept through qualification and flight - Proficiency in CAD and structural analysis tools - Hands-on experience with metallic structural design, GD&T, drawing creation, integration, and testing - Strong communication skills and demonstrated success working cross-functionally in fast-paced environments Nice to haves but not required: - Direct technical experience with interplanetary spacecraft design - Experience designing avionics enclosures - Familiarity with NASA or other spaceflight structural design and verification standards - Experience with spaceflight hardware environmental testing and qualification At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices.

Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more!

To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here. ## Hiring Range $164,000 - $246,000 USD

From Relativity Space's job posting, checked 7 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.

Selected agencies hiring now

These agencies and apps pay SpaceJobs.Now a referral fee when someone we introduce is placed or signs up. It costs you nothing and never changes your pay. Employers' own jobs below keep their own order.

Sponsored

Sponsored jobs from job networks, which pay SpaceJobs.Now when you click one.

Free tools for this application: check your resume against this job, answer the application's questions or see every free tool.

New mechanical, structures and thermal engineering jobs in space in California, by email

One email a week with the newest ones, straight from the employers' own careers sites, with the pay each posting states. Free, stop anytime.

About Relativity Space

Builds reusable rockets that make access to space more reliable and routine.

Pay on its listings: 99.7% of its open jobs state an hourly rate

How it pays: Paid as an employee on Relativity Space's own payroll (salaried or hourly, as each posting states).

More open jobs at Relativity Space

More mechanical, structures and thermal engineering jobs in space

A mechanical, structures or thermal engineer?

One profile for every employer here. Space companies and their recruiters ask us for people with a specific degree, clearance, specialty or location: add yours once, and when a job fits, we introduce you, only with your yes. Free.

Create my profile

Relativity Space openings, sent to you weekly

Each week we send the newest postings from Relativity Space's own careers site, along with similar openings at other space employers. It costs nothing and you can stop anytime.