Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Design Engineer

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 Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Design Engineer to support the development of space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, its orbital power grid. As a subject matter expert (SME), the ideal candidate will bring extensive experience with all phases of the spacecraft mechanical design process, including vehicle configuration, mass properties, interface control, drafting standards and GD&T, drawing release, and producibility.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the mechanical configuration of the spacecraft, including internal layout, keep-out zones, access and serviceability, and the stowed and deployed envelopes of deployable structures.
• Own the spacecraft mass properties budget, allocate mass, center of gravity, and inertia to subsystems, and approve growth and margin positions at each design review.
• Own the interfaces to subcontractor, customer, and launch vehicle hardware. Communicate with all stakeholders to ensure Interface Control Documents (ICDs) are accurate and current.
• Establish the drafting standard and GD&T practice for mechanical engineering, including drawing formats, tolerancing convention, and part numbering.
• Define and run the drawing review and release process, including release states, engineering change, and the router package that follows hardware through fabrication.
• Drive the principles of electronics enclosure designs to mount circuit cards and other electrical components. Coordinate with the Electrical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Structural Analysis teams to ensure enclosure designs protect sensitive electronics forLead the design of electronics enclosures that mount circuit cards and other electrical components. Coordinate with the Electrical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, and Structural Analysis teams to ensure enclosure designs protect sensitive electronics in launch and space environments.
• Establish and maintain Autodesk Inventor templates, standard parts libraries, and modeling practices to ensure consistent and reusable designs are released across the team.
• Direct detail design across the mechanical team, and approve models and drawings for release.
• Own producibility standards and make-versus-buy logic for mechanical hardware, and set supplier drawing and inspection requirements.
• Serve as the technical focal point for mechanical design across structures, mechanisms, thermal, optical, avionics, and manufacturing.
• Support the systems engineering team in writing detailed requirements for mechanical hardware functionality and the methods for verification.
• Mentor engineers, and establish design review practice and documentation standards for the discipline.
• Create technical documentation for proposals, design reviews, and test reports for executing on program deliverables and winning of new programs.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, structural, or aerospace engineering, or a related field, and a minimum of ten years of experience in spacecraft or flight hardware mechanical design.
• Demonstrated leadership of space systems development, including ownership of a major assembly from concept through build and flight.
• Experience establishing or owning a drafting standard and GD&T practice per ASME Y14.5, and a drawing release process in a PDM.
• Experience owning a vehicle mass properties budget, including allocation to subsystems, growth tracking, and reporting at design reviews.
• Experience with mechanical chassis design for electrical components involving wedgelocks, connectors, backplanes, flex circuits, thermal interface material, heatsinks, EMI/EMC shielding, encapsulation, cable management, etc.
• Expert proficiency in Autodesk Inventor or equivalent, including large assembly management.
• Experience driving producibility and make-versus-buy decisions with machine shops, fabricators, and suppliers of flight hardware.
• Experience evaluating and selecting space-qualified adhesives, sealants, and threadlockers for flight hardware, with the ability to write technical work instructions directing application and curing methods.
• Creative problem-solving skills, with the capability to develop innovative solutions to advanced engineering challenges.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's or PhD degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with deployable structures and configuration control of stowed and deployed states.
• Experience with composite, bonded, or lightweight panel construction and the associated fabrication processes.
• Experience administering CAD and PDM environments, including template, library, and automation development with iLogic, Python, or equivalent.
• Familiarity 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.