Principal Mechanical Engineer, Space Special Programs

Location: Chantilly, Virginia, United States; Herndon, Virginia, United States

Department: AFS : Space Engineering

ABOUT THE TEAM 

In the Space Special Programs team, we build spacecraft and space systems which serve a wide variety of functions in the space architecture. At a time when space superiority can no longer be taken for granted and with space systems proliferating at an incredible rate, the Space Special Programs team provides advanced, mission critical capabilities to our customer base to be able to more effectively operate and survive within this expanding environment with limited personnel. Working across product, engineering, sales, logistics, operations, and mission success, the Space Special Programs team develops, tests, deploys, and operates new, unique, space capabilities to drive mission success in challenging operational environments. 

ABOUT THE JOB 

We are looking for a Principal Mechanical Engineer to join our rapidly growing team in Chantilly, VA. In this role, you will be responsible for the full cycle design for spacecraft and associated systems including deriving requirements, 3D CAD, modelling (structural, thermal, dynamic, etc), materials selection, supervision of fabrication, initial assembly, test, debug and integration with the system. The designs include deployment mechanisms for spacecraft and subsystems (such as antennas, solar panels, etc), as well as boxes, structures, pressure vessels, and the like. All of these components require rigorous testing including vibration, shock, thermal vacuum, thermal, etc and must be developed to work with very tight tolerances, since the space vehicles themselves are fairly small. The design work also includes designing, building, and testing the MGSE required to integrate, assemble, and test the spacecraft, ultimately in a high-rate manufacturing environment. Your engineering team as a whole must span the capabilities of structural, thermal, and dynamic analysis, structure design for spacecraft, spacecraft dispensers, and other components, 3D CAD for all of these designs, design for fabrication and manufacture, as well as building prototypes, flight articles, and taking them through full qualification or acceptance test campaigns. You are expected to be an individual contributor as well as the team lead.  Additionally, you will be responsible for helping develop the system mechanical designs, techniques, and standards, and, as the expert mechanical engineer, for mentoring and growing your team. 

WHAT YOU’LL DO 

• Work with a cross-functional team to design market leading hardware products 
• Drive product maturity through rapid prototyping, design verification, and qualification activities 
• Apply modern space-flight hardware design standards and guidelines to create high-reliability, highly manufacturable assemblies, and a team which implements them. 
• Implement a variety of structural components and mechatronics, with associated environmental testing to assure robustness in the context of the various missions as well as to characterize performance envelopes of the hardware 
• Use rapid prototyping, 3D printing, and hands-on machining as appropriate to iterate quickly and allow for creative “outside-the-box" thinking 
• Conduct peer-level and cross-discipline design reviews and mentor your team 
• Root cause analysis in support of production operations 
• Work in a fast-paced environment, having to juggle multiple concurrent projects and customers 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• 15+ years of professional experience in hardware product development, at least 5 designing space flight hardware 
• Basic understanding of PCB Layout requirements to meet space flight mechanical, and manufacturing requirements 
• Experience in ground-up system design and any 3-D CAD  
• Hands-on assembly, prototyping, testing, and performance characterization of mechanisms designed for 0g but in a 1g environment. 
• Experience designing and building very small mechanisms, components, and systems.  
• Familiarity with launch environments, testing for launch environments, range safety, and system integration efforts 
• Demonstrated creativity and “out of the box thinking” for spacecraft mechanisms with an eye toward simplicity and reliability 
• Understanding of NASA-GEVS (or equivalent) and firm understanding and experience with all facets of spaceflight environmental testing 
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively with others 
• Ability to work within our company and team culture  
• Demonstrated High ownership and autonomy across the entire cradle-to-grave lifecycle of a spacecraft or space system mechanical subsystem. 
• Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Experience designing, integrating, and flying Cubesat spacecraft meant to operate in LEO through GEO environments 
• 1+ years of exlperience working in a classified environment