Mechanism Engineer Level 1

Cowboy Space Corp.

16h•$74,000 - $114,000•Onsite

About The Position

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth. Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure. About the Role: As a Mechanisms Engineer, you will own a vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept through flight. Depending on your background and team priorities, your assignment will be separation systems, landing gear, aero control surfaces, or electromechanical actuation. This is a hands-on role at the center of vehicle hardware development, and it is a real ownership role from day one. You will work closely with propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and launch operations to design integrated systems, build hardware, and validate through test. Expect to move quickly, iterate often, and be trusted with mechanisms that directly impact mission success.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
1+ years of experience designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for flight vehicles or high-performance hardware. Internships, co-ops, and competition or research team experience count.
Experience seeing a mechanical design through to physical hardware — built, assembled, and tested.
Solid fundamentals in structural mechanics, kinematics, materials, and manufacturing processes.
Proficiency with CAD (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or Creo) and experience creating engineering drawings to ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards.
Working knowledge of FEA tools (ANSYS, Nastran, or Abaqus) applied to structural or mechanism problems.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Nice To Haves

3+ years of experience designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for flight vehicles or high-performance hardware.
Exposure to separation systems, landing gear, aero control surfaces, or flight electromechanical actuators.
Hands-on prototyping and machining experience — personal projects, shop work, and student build teams (FSAE, Baja, rocketry, robotics) all qualify.
Familiarity with reusable vehicle design.
Experience at a fast-moving, hardware-focused startup or early-stage program.
Track record of picking up unfamiliar problems quickly and closing them out with minimal direction.

Responsibilities

Own your mechanism subsystem from concept through design, analysis, test, and flight.
Drive structural and kinematic design for minimum mass while meeting strength, stiffness, fatigue, and operational-life requirements across ascent, entry, landing, and reuse environments.
Balance performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule in every design decision
Perform analysis — hand calculations, FEA, tolerance stack-ups — and validate predictions with test and flight data.
Define and execute qualification and acceptance test campaigns; author procedures, acceptance criteria, and anomaly dispositions.
Develop and maintain engineering drawings, models, and release documentation.
Work directly on the factory floor with manufacturing to iterate quickly and resolve build issues in real time.
Troubleshoot hardware anomalies, perform root cause analysis, and implement design improvements.
Support launch operations, post-flight inspection, and refurbishment planning.