Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - 2026Q2

Littleton, United States

Astro Digital designs, builds, and operates a diverse range of small satellite systems supporting space-based turnkey missions for several business applications, including Earth observation, communications, in-orbit demonstrations, risk reduction, science, and exploration. Astro Digital is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with roughly 100 employees and infrastructure around the globe.

Position Summary

The Senior Mechanical Design Engineer is responsible for leading the mechanical design of satellite buses (50 kg to 500 kg), from proposals through to final integration prior to launch.

The ideal candidate is a passionate, self‑motivated mechanical design engineer with deep experience in the design of space systems and components. They would be comfortable creating parts in a CAD system, laying out entire bus structures with the guidance of structural engineers, working with thermal engineers to specify coatings and thermal solutions, and creating manufacturing, inspection, and assembly drawings. The candidate should be comfortable with GD&T and tolerancing.

Bonus skills include experience with mechanism design and testing, including design calculations such as tolerance and torque margin analysis.

In addition to design responsibilities, the candidate would be able to assist more junior mechanical engineers in layout and component design, drawing creation, and mechanical test planning and execution.

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or closely related field
• 7-15 years of experience as a mechanical design engineer in the aerospace field
• Proficiency (>5,000 hrs) in one or more CAD systems (Solidworks or Onshape preferred)
• Proficiency creating part and assembly drawings
• Comfort with CAD version control /PDM systems and release processes
• Comfort performing design calculations and basic FEA analyses
• Self‑motivated work ethic with a desire to learn new aspects of mechanical design of satellites
• Willingness and ability to assist and shepherd less experienced engineers
• Good written, verbal, and virtual communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supervising or mentoring junior engineers, including participating in reviews of designs and drawings
• Experience working concurrently with structural and thermal engineers to develop designs
• Familiarity with standards such as NASA-STD-5020 (bolted joints), AIAA‑S‑114 (mechanisms), NASA-STD-5017 (mechanisms), NASA-STD-7000 (environments)
• Familiarity with SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare requirements
• Possesses a solid understanding of thermal environments and effects

Benefits

Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance options, 401k matching, 10 floating holidays, 5 sick days, and 3 weeks (15 days) of PTO per year.

This position requires access to export‑controlled commodities, technical data, technology, software, and services. U.S. citizenship, U.S. legal permanent resident status, or protected person status under 22 CFR §120.15 and 8 U.S.C. §1324b(a)(3) is required.

Job Type: Full Time
Salary Range: $130k – 150k annually
Location: Hybrid (minimum 2-3 days/wk onsite) in Littleton, CO