Spacecraft Mechanisms Engineer - Docking, Capture & Mating

Job Description

Job Description

Spacecraft Mechanisms Engineer - Design the Docking Hardware That Lets Spacecraft Build Themselves in Orbit

Golden, CO | On-site

Opportunity Summary

A seed-stage space startup is building modular spacecraft that rendezvous, dock, and latch together in orbit. The mechanisms that capture and join these modules, and pass loads, power, and data across the interface, are the heart of the vehicle.

You will own the docking, capture, and mating hardware from concept through qualification, production, and on-orbit operation. This is a hands-on role on a small team where you will design, analyze, build, and test flight mechanisms yourself and see them fly.

About Us

We are a venture-backed space technology startup in Golden, Colorado building modular spacecraft that launch as compact units and join together in orbit to form larger, more capable vehicles. The core technology has already flown in multiple on-orbit and microgravity demonstrations, and a newly outfitted facility is supporting the move toward larger hardware and a free-flying demonstration. The team is small and senior, with engineers who have shipped hardware at leading launch, satellite, and defense companies, and every engineer owns a real piece of the vehicle.

Job Duties

• Architect and design docking latches, capture hardware, and mating interfaces, including their structural performance
• Design blind-mate electrical interfaces that carry power and data across the docking plane
• Build alignment and tolerance budgets and analyze misalignment capture envelopes
• Route load paths from the mechanism into primary structure and assess thermal expansion and wear
• Design for contamination and debris tolerance over repeated mating cycles
• Run FEA for modal, quasi-static, and random vibration environments
• Plan and execute life, wear, thermal-vacuum, and shock testing
• Select materials, coatings, and lubricants for vacuum operation
• Produce detailed drawings and work directly with suppliers through fabrication

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering
• 4+ years of experience designing spaceflight mechanisms
• Experience with flown or flight-qualified hardware
• Strong tolerance stack-up and connector interface design skills
• Hands-on assembly and test experience
• Proficiency with FEA and CAD, including GD&T
• Clear communicator across mechanical, avionics, GNC, and test disciplines
• U.S. person status (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee) required under ITAR

Preferred Experience

• Experience with docking, on-orbit servicing, or in-space assembly systems
• Knowledge of vacuum tribology and space lubricants
• Statistical tolerance analysis using RSS or Monte Carlo methods
• Familiarity with NASA-STD-5017, NASA-STD-5020, GEVS, or SMC-S-016
• Experience designing mechanisms for high cycle counts and repeated mate/demate

Why Join Us

• Own the most critical mechanism on the vehicle
• Take hardware from a blank page to orbit on a small, senior team
• Work on in-space assembly, one of the most important emerging capabilities in the space industry
• Early-employee stock options with meaningful upside as the platform moves toward operational missions
• Fast growth on a small team, where engineers who deliver take on broader ownership quickly
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Short- and long-term disability insurance and life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Three weeks of paid vacation and 10 or more paid holidays annually

Compensation Details

$120,000 - $170,000 + equity

ITAR Requirement

This position requires access to technical data controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Applicants must be U.S. persons (U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees, or asylees) or eligible to obtain the required U.S. Department of State authorization.

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