Launch Vehicle Mechanisms Engineer II Verified today

About Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly was the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first to achieve a successful Moon landing.

The Role

The Launch Vehicle Mechanisms Engineer II is responsible for the design, analysis, development, and qualification of critical moving mechanical assemblies for launch vehicle programs. This role provides technical leadership across the full lifecycle of mechanisms such as stage separation systems, deployment mechanisms, hold-down and release systems, and other flight-critical moving assemblies.

What You Will Do

• Develop and produce moving mechanical assemblies as technical owner, meeting requirements for launch vehicle missions
• Create and manage hardware definition through CAD and drawings
• Perform detailed analysis including structural margins, fatigue, contact, wear, thermal effects, tolerance stack-ups, and dynamics of moving systems
• Build confidence and reliability through rigorous documentation
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across structures, avionics, propulsion, and operations to ensure seamless integration
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to ensure producibility, inspectability, and flight-readiness
• Support build, integration, and acceptance activities, resolving fit, function, and performance issues
• Lead development, qualification, and acceptance testing to SMC-S016, AIAA S-114, GEVS and other industry standards
• Provide technical mentorship to junior engineers
• Act as subject-matter expert for mechanisms across programs

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering field
• 3+ years of experience designing, analyzing, and qualifying mechanical mechanisms for aerospace or high-reliability systems
• Demonstrated experience with flight-critical mechanisms such as separation systems, deployment mechanisms, actuators, latches, hinges, springs, and release devices
• Strong understanding of kinematics, tribology, tolerance analysis, lubrication, and wear in aerospace environments
• Experience designing and testing for extreme environments including vibration, shock, thermal cycling, vacuum, and cryogenic conditions
• Proficiency with FEA and classical hand calculations to evaluate strength, stiffness, and fatigue (Ansys, Femap, etc.)
• Experience supporting production builds, resolving nonconformances, and improving producibility
• Experience defining qualification and acceptance test programs and interpreting test data
• Proven ability to make sound, defensible engineering decisions under schedule and program constraints

Desired Qualifications

• M.S. or PhD in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related discipline, or 5+ years of experience designing, analyzing, and qualifying mechanical mechanisms
• Experience with launch vehicle or spacecraft programs from development through qualified flight
• Experience driving hardware from test through successful product
• Experience with design and qualification of separation systems
• Experience with shock mitigation strategies
• Proven history of successful mechanisms with high lifecycle counts and minimal refurbishment
• Familiarity with scripting or programming for analysis, automation, or data reduction
• Working knowledge of AIAA S-114, NASA 5017b, SMC-S016, NASA 5020, GEVS

Employment Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Benefits

Firefly offers generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.