Propulsion Systems Engineer II

JPL/NASA•Pasadena, CA

5d•$118,872 - $143,000

About The Position

The Propulsion Systems Engineer II will work in JPL’s Chemical Propulsion Systems Group within the Thermal, Propulsion, and Materials Engineering Section. The role supports the development, implementation, integration, and verification of chemical propulsion system architectures throughout the project lifecycle, including systems engineering, design, analysis, testing, and flight hardware delivery. The engineer will contribute to hands-on assembly, integration, and test activities; support component vendors and environmental or hot-fire testing; and assist with spacecraft propulsion operations and anomaly investigations. The position performs spacecraft chemical propulsion subsystem static and transient analyses, develops and improves analysis tools and system models, and conducts ground tests to validate models. It also involves documenting tools and methods, reducing test data, peer-checking analyses, providing design inputs, and communicating technical results to project teams and management. The role is part of a collaborative, fast-paced environment that values adaptability, decisiveness, and comfort navigating ambiguity.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline and at least 3 years of related experience; or a master’s degree and at least 1 year of related experience.
Strong fundamentals or demonstrated work experience applying advanced compressible and incompressible fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and rocket propulsion principles to propulsion systems.
Demonstrated ability to create and understand fluid schematics (P&IDs) and mechanical drawings.
Familiarity with developing, supporting, and conducting propulsion subsystem ground testing.
Ability to perform first-order hand calculations and Excel-level calculations.
Practical experience with commercial CAD and PDM software; Siemens NX and Teamcenter are preferred.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
Proficiency with programming languages; MATLAB is preferred.
Ability to report and present complex design, analytical, and test results clearly to multidisciplinary teams.
Ability to work as a team member and independently with limited supervision when given general instructions.

Nice To Haves

Basic understanding of spacecraft propulsion system-level interfaces, including mechanical, thermal, and electrical interfaces, and their effects on subsystem design and operation.
Working knowledge of designing, releasing, and fabricating ground support test hardware.
Familiarity with hardware qualification and acceptance test processes and campaigns.
Experience supporting anomaly investigations, including root-cause analysis and corrective-action development.
Experience performing spacecraft propulsion subsystem analyses, such as flow-pressure drop analysis and test-data reduction, and generating tools or code for them.
Experience validating analytical models against literature or test data, identifying discrepancies, and refining models.
Hands-on knowledge and experience with commercial CFD tools such as Star-CCM+ or ANSYS and commercial analytical tools such as SINDA/FLUINT or GFSSP.
Uses discretion and independent judgment when evaluating problem-solving approaches and solutions.
Excellent verbal and written technical communication skills and ability to collaborate in a team environment.

Responsibilities

Provide systems engineering, design, analysis, and test support for chemical propulsion system architectures across all project lifecycle phases.
Contribute to and execute hands-on propulsion system assembly, integration, and test activities.
Support propulsion flight hardware deliveries and coordinate with external component vendors, including environmental and hot-fire test support and verification of vendor processes and documentation.
Engage in component- and system-level problem resolution and anomaly investigations.
Assist with conducting and monitoring spacecraft propulsion operations.
Perform spacecraft chemical propulsion subsystem static and transient analyses, including flow-pressure drop, system sizing, blowdown, and waterhammer analyses.
Update, optimize, and improve existing analysis tools and system models.
Generate documentation and user manuals for in-house analysis tools and models.
Develop and execute ground tests to validate and anchor analysis models, and analyze and reduce test data.
Collaborate with the propulsion team to provide analysis peer checks and systems design inputs.
Prepare and communicate analysis methodologies, assumptions, and analytical and test results to the team, project, and management.