Senior Mechanical Design Engineer (Structures & Thermal Protection Integration)

Castelion Corporation • Torrance, NM

5d

About The Position

Castelion is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to design and deliver flight-vehicle structures for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. The role focuses on structural systems that interface with and enable the thermal protection system (TPS), including separating nose-tip architectures and other high-temperature structural components. The engineer will work hands-on with multidisciplinary teams to design, analyze, build, and validate flight-critical structures in a fast-paced, hardware-driven environment.

The position includes technical ownership of high-temperature structural assemblies, separation systems, interfaces, and load paths, along with structural and thermal analysis, hardware build and test support, and coordination with materials, TPS, aerothermal, GNC, manufacturing, and program leadership. The role may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, and requires access to applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing.

Requirements

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in structural design and analysis for aerospace or high-performance systems.
• Strong background in high-temperature structures and materials, particularly in TPS-adjacent or aerothermal environments.
• Experience designing separation systems, joints, and structural interfaces for flight hardware.
• Proficiency with CAD and analysis tools such as NX, SolidWorks, ANSYS, or equivalent.
• Experience with structural and thermal analysis, including thermal-structural coupling and tolerance stack-up.
• Familiarity with high-temperature materials such as ceramics, carbon-carbon, refractory metals, or similar.
• Experience with hardware build, test, and troubleshooting in a lab or flight-hardware environment.
• Ability to access applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop flight-vehicle structures, including separating nose-tip systems and components critical to TPS performance.
• Lead the architecture and detailed design of high-temperature structural assemblies, including joints, interfaces, and load paths across TPS and primary structure.
• Perform structural and thermal analyses to ensure performance and reliability under extreme aerothermal, pressure, and dynamic environments.
• Work with materials, TPS, aerothermal, GNC, and manufacturing teams to integrate structures with vehicle systems.
• Develop and analyze separation mechanisms and interfaces to ensure reliable, repeatable operation under flight conditions.
• Conduct tolerance analysis and assess thermal expansion, material compatibility, and interface behavior at elevated temperatures.
• Support prototyping, assembly, and hardware bring-up, including troubleshooting and root-cause analysis of structural and interface performance issues.
• Define and execute qualification and environmental test plans, including thermal, vibration, and shock testing.
• Optimize designs for mass, thermal performance, structural integrity, and manufacturability.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to best practices in high-temperature structural design.
• Partner with program leadership on technical trades aligned with mission success.

Benefits

• Generous benefits package; details are available on Castelion's Careers page.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior