Mechanical Test Engineer, Deployable Antenna Structures

E-Space • Arlington, TX

6d • Onsite

About The Position

E-Space is seeking a hands-on Mechanical Test Engineer to own ground testing of the physical deployment of its large deployable antenna structure. The engineer will work with deployable structures, deployment mechanisms, test fixtures, and gravity-offload equipment—building test setups, operating hardware, measuring motion and forces, and investigating unexpected behavior. The goal is to turn hardware observations into evidence that the antenna can deploy reliably and reach its required geometry. Success requires mechanical intuition, careful experimentation, and the ability to distinguish antenna behavior from effects introduced by ground-test equipment.

This role is based onsite in Arlington, Texas. Hands-on bench work and presence at test facilities are required, with some travel between sites expected. It is a full-time, exempt position.

Requirements

• BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent practical engineering experience.
• Hands-on experience testing physical mechanisms or deployable hardware, with clear examples of personally setting up, operating, measuring, and troubleshooting hardware.
• Practical mechanical judgment and the ability to reason about forces, motion, friction, stiffness, alignment, and the influence of test fixtures on measured hardware.
• Experience developing test procedures and using force, torque, motion, or optical measurement instrumentation to obtain repeatable data.
• Ability to investigate anomalies systematically and explain what the evidence supports, what remains uncertain, and what to test next.
• Understanding that a ground test under gravity does not automatically reproduce flight deployment conditions.
• Work authorization for the location of the role; E-Space cannot currently provide employment sponsorship for candidates who do not hold it.

Nice To Haves

• Deployment testing of antennas, solar arrays, booms, or other flexible flight structures.
• Design or operation of gravity-offload rigs, including characterization of friction and support compliance.
• Experience with deployable booms (rollable, telescoping, hinged, or coilable lattice) and membrane or other tensioned deployable hardware.
• Photogrammetry or other optical measurement of deployed shape and motion.
• Experience with mechanism friction and lubrication across temperature ranges, thermal-vacuum deployment tests, or deployment model-test correlation.
• Direct experience with LEO satellite component development, design, and in-orbit activities.

Responsibilities

• Own the antenna assembly’s mechanical deployment test program, from requirements and procedures through fixture development, test execution, data reduction, and reporting.
• Design, build, and improve gravity-offload and support fixtures for large flexible structures.
• Characterize rig friction and compliance to distinguish their effects from antenna behavior.
• Set up and run physical deployment tests.
• Measure force and torque profiles, boom-tip trajectories, deployment timing, and deployed shape using appropriate instrumentation and optical measurement methods.
• Investigate unexpected motion, inconsistent deployment, and geometry outliers through inspection, measurement, and controlled follow-up tests.
• Establish deployment repeatability against defined requirements and characterize sensitivity to sequencing, temperature, and lubricant state when required by the test plan.
• Work with the deployment mechanism team to characterize actuator output, locked-state stiffness, and backlash.
• Coordinate subsystem testing and assembly-level deployment testing with the responsible engineers.
• Work with the IAS structures analyst to correlate test results with structural and deployment models, quantify ground-test artifacts, and bound what the results establish about flight deployment.

Benefits

• Opportunities for professional growth and development.
• Support and investment in team members’ and families’ physical, emotional, and financial well-being.
• Competitive salaries.
• Continuous learning and development.
• Health and wellness care options.
• Financial solutions for the future.
• Optional legal services (US only).
• Paid holidays.
• Paid time off.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time