Lunar Surface Systems Engineer

Interlune•Seattle, WA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Interlune is a space resources company based in Seattle, WA. We will provide resources from space to power a clean and sustainable economy on Earth and in space. We are looking for a Doer who wants to join our early-stage team and accelerate humanity’s progress toward an off-world future. Our engineering team combines expert knowledge of geological sciences, mechanical engineering, automation, systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and advanced fabrication to build the infrastructure that will create an in-space economy. To join our small team, you must be agile, willing to learn, and able to take on multiple roles as needed. We are seeking a systems engineer to support cross-functional integration of lunar surface hardware and guide system architecture, interfaces, and technical decision-making in the context of the lunar environment. The ideal candidate will bring strong systems engineering discipline and the ability to translate specialist input into sound design choices, technical risk identification and mitigation, and executable verification strategies.

Requirements

B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Planetary Science, Physics, or related technical subject area.
5+ years of experience in integrated systems development or space environment modeling, with at least 3 years of experience taking responsibility for a major integrated element or technical workstream
Highly knowledgeable of the product development lifecycle (concept development, requirement definition, design solution definition, implementation, integration, verification and validation).
Excellent verbal, written, and communication skills with a keen attention to detail.
Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.

Nice To Haves

M.S. or Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences, Space Resources, Spacecraft Systems Engineering, or related technical subject area.
Experience leading cross-functional system integration, interface management and architecture or design trades for complex hardware systems.
Practical hands-on experience building, testing, or qualifying hardware for extreme environments (space, thermal vacuum, high radiation, or abrasive/dusty environments).
Experience in systems engineering for an in-space mission, preferably on a lunar or planetary mission with surface operations.
Experience identifying, assessing, tracking, and mitigating technical risks across hardware development, integration, and verification activities.
Experience working with natural and induced environments analysis in a space context (thermal, radiation, plasma, vacuum, dust, micrometeorite, lunar ejecta).

Responsibilities

Work with the major mission stakeholders to develop the mission concept of operations
Support cross-functional technical integration across disciplines to identify interface issues early and maintain alignment on system-level design decisions.
Oversee Interlune’s contributions to the mission’s design and system trades, leading the technical risk tracking to guide design maturation, integration planning, and verification strategy.
Drive closure of system-level risks, open technical issues, and key interface decisions, ensuring subsystem development remains consistent with overall vehicle architecture and mission needs.
Characterize the lunar surface environment (specifically regolith geomechanics, thermal variations, dust abrasiveness/cohesion, and electrostatic charging dynamics) to establish strict constraints for system performance and lifespan.
Translate complex environmental models into actionable system-level requirements and ensure the requirements are linked to verification plans
Perform and document natural and induced environments analysis to characterize impact of lunar ejecta, micrometeorites, thermal cycles, radiation, plasma, vacuum, and dust to space systems.
Develop and/or review verification test plans and contribute to hands-on integration, debugging, and qualification of hardware