Mechanical Design Engineer 3

United Launch Alliance•Centennial, CO

About The Position

United Launch Alliance is hiring a Mechanical Design Engineer 3 for the AS&D Vulcan Development team in Denver. The role supports development of the Centaur V on the SLS upper stage, designing mechanical and structural components and ensuring alignment with vehicle-level and subsystem requirements. The engineer contributes to design trades, program execution, technical reviews, requirement development, qualification testing, hardware integration, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement. The position requires collaboration with multidisciplinary engineering, manufacturing, quality, and technician teams. Relocation may be available, and travel is expected to be 10%.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum of 4 years of related work experience.
Familiarity with structural and mechanical system design, development, and participation in qualification activities.
Ability to execute assigned engineering tasks with growing independence and effective time management.
Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and applicable industry or government standards.
Significant experience performing CAD modeling and drawing creation.
Strong communication and presentation skills.
Experience integrating with multidisciplinary teams and demonstrated technical coordination skills.
Strong understanding of design for producibility of machined and formed parts.
Proven capability in executing engineering drawing package release.
Strong GD&T interpretation and application skills.
Foundational understanding of aerospace hardware and system-level integration and test processes.
Understanding of aerospace hardware production and manufacturing operations.
Applicants must be U.S. Persons as defined by ITAR.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering.
Understanding of stress analysis methodologies and tools.
NX and Teamcenter utilization in an MBE environment.
Technical understanding of composite structural design and tooling solutions.
Experience performing subsystem and vehicle walkdown inspections.
Utilization of agile processes in a development program environment.

Responsibilities

Contribute to design and architectural trade evaluations by generating options, assessing impacts, and preparing technical summaries for review.
Design and develop mechanical and structural components for the Centaur V upper stage, ensuring designs align with vehicle-level and subsystem requirements.
Support program planning and execution by maintaining task status, identifying risks, and providing technical inputs.
Prepare engineering content for major program reviews, including models, drawings, analysis summaries, and verification documentation.
Support requirement development and participate in fishbone analyses to clarify design intent, inform verification plans, and strengthen root-cause evaluation frameworks.
Participate in development and qualification test campaigns, including test planning, instrumentation support, data review, and post-test documentation.
Create and update CAD models, detailed drawings, and GD&T for mechanical hardware throughout the design lifecycle.
Perform first-order assessments of mechanical designs to enable integration with analysis teams and improve engineering workflow efficiency.
Assist in troubleshooting hardware issues, supporting non-conformance dispositions, and participating in root-cause investigations.
Interface with manufacturing, quality, and technicians to support hardware build, integration, and test activities.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to integrate mechanical designs within the broader upper-stage architecture.
Contribute to continuous improvement in design, documentation, and producibility.