Vehicle Fluids Engineer II
How this pay compares
This posting states $104k–$156k a year. Open propulsion engineer jobs in California post a median of $151k a year, the middle half $130k–$170k, across 118 jobs that state their pay, so this one is within the middle half of what they post.
Propulsion 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 Stage Fluids team designs and delivers the propellant, pressurant, pneumatics, and other fluid systems that turn structures into functioning rockets. The team has full ownership across design, production, test, and flight, maintaining a holistic view of Terran R, focused not on isolated parts but integrated functionality.
Working on-site at the factory means you’re never far from the hardware, enabling rapid iteration and tight feedback loops across design and manufacturing.
You won’t just be handed requirements: you’ll be expected to ask the right questions, collaborate with partners across the company, and ultimately find the best solutions for Terran R. ## About the Role In this role, you will be responsible for the mechanical and structural implementation of the stage fluid systems, ensuring a reliable and efficient operation of our Terran R launch vehicle. - Fluids routing and design trade studies - Fluids hardware mounting structure design - Fluid system hardware mechanical verification analysis including both hand calcs and FEA - Structural design of mounting hardware for various fluid system component and routing - Incorporate 3D printing methods and in fluid system mechanical design - Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) The right person for this role will need to be someone who enjoys leading the way for the team on exploring new methods and design approaches.
They will have end to end ownership of their designs and immediately see hardware you designed come to fruition.
They must be flexible to changes in strategic direction and willing to take full ownership of their projects to ensure we as a company are producing the best possible product while incorporating innovative production methods into their designs. ## About You - Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or an equivalent engineering discipline - 2+ years mechanical design experience - Experience with a commercial CAD package (NX, CREO, Solidworks) - Experience with GD&T, manufacturing, and interacting with vendors - Experience with fluid system components (fittings, seals, valves, regulators, etc.) and system testing - Experience with FEA tools to analyze structural margins 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 $104,000 - $156,000 USD
From Relativity Space's job posting, checked 7 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.
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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).
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