Principal Turbomachinery Engineer, Turbine Development Long Beach, California

Principal Turbomachinery Engineer, Turbine Development

Long Beach, California

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. 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. You’ll solve problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Across teams, you’ll shape decisions and see your work come to life in record time.

About the Team

The propulsion team is responsible for the successful development of the engines that will power the Terran R vehicle. The team owns design from concept through launch and reuse. It partners heavily with manufacturing, test, launch, and integration teams to develop our engines in record time and support Terran R’s first launch in 2026. As part of this team, you will build, test, and iterate on the full product lifecycle of our Aeon‑R engine systems, seeing them mature and ultimately bring Terran R into space.

About the Role

We are looking for a technical expert to advance the state of the art of turbine design for space applications. You will collaborate closely with propulsion development and manufacturing teams to incorporate improvements into future designs. You should thrive in ambiguity, drive your own projects to completion, and work through challenging issues unique to rocket turbopumps. You are multifaceted and able to work at the interfaces of design, development, and analysis of turbomachinery. Ideally, you have experience in a fast‑paced aerospace environment and have completed difficult projects while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary groups.

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering or related technical field and 15+ years of relevant experience
• Experience with turbine design, performing aerodynamic and structural analysis
• Experience with LCF and HCF methodologies
• Experience with transient thermal/aerodynamic analysis
• Experience with forced response analysis
• Knowledge of industry standard turbomachinery design and analysis
• Knowledge of turbopump assembly procedures, including rotor balancing, interference fits, clearance checks, structural proofing, and leak checks

Nice to Haves

• Experience with in‑situ mode shape/blade deformation measurement
• Experience overseeing turbomachinery development and/or test campaigns
• Proficiency in Siemens NX and Teamcenter
• Experience in a startup or agile development environment
• Experience working in a flight development program

Compensation & Benefits

Hiring Ranges: $185,000 - $254,000 USD.

We offer competitive salary and equity, generous PTO and sick leave, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more. For more information, visit our benefits page.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.