Senior Mechanical Engineer (Structures)

Starpath Robotics

1d • $165,000 - $200,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Starlight team is focused on dramatically improving space solar power to support Starpath’s core mission and the broader space economy. Starlight manufactures the lowest-cost, highest-performance space solar power systems, which will power the majority of new satellites built on Earth and all of Starpath’s equipment on the Moon and Mars.
As a Senior Mechanical Engineer on the Structures team, you will own the structural architecture, design, analysis, and qualification of Starlight’s solar array hardware. You will serve as a technical authority for lightweight space structures, resolving complex design and integration challenges from early trade studies through flight qualification and production.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, structural engineering, or a related discipline
• 6+ years of professional mechanical-design or structural-engineering experience
• Demonstrated ownership of complex structural hardware from concept through qualification or production
• Strong command of structural mechanics, load paths, joints, stress, stiffness, buckling, fatigue, and structural dynamics
• Proficiency with 3D CAD, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and detailed engineering drawings
• Advanced experience performing and reviewing structural analysis using hand calculations and FEA
• Experience defining structural test programs and correlating analytical models with test data
• Hands-on experience building, testing, troubleshooting, and improving mechanical hardware
• Ability to lead technical decisions, communicate risk clearly, and coordinate across engineering and manufacturing teams
• Evidence of exceptional engineering ability
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, you must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, structural engineering, or a related discipline
• Experience owning structures that have survived launch and operated in space
• Advanced proficiency with Nastran, Abaqus, Ansys, Femap, or similar FEA tools
• Experience with quasi-static loads, random vibration, shock response, modal analysis, thermal distortion, fatigue, and coupled-loads analysis
• Experience leading static load, vibration, shock, and modal qualification campaigns
• Expertise in test planning, instrumentation, data interpretation, and test-to-model correlation
• Experience designing lightweight structures across machined, sheet-metal, welded, composite, and bonded construction
• Deep knowledge of aerospace materials, fasteners, joint design, and structural margin policies
• Experience with deployable structures, hinges, latches, actuators, or other spacecraft mechanisms
• Familiarity with NASA-STD-5001, GEVS, and other applicable aerospace structural standards
• Experience transitioning flight hardware from prototype development into repeatable production

Responsibilities

• Own structural systems from architecture through detailed design, analysis, fabrication, qualification, and flight
• Establish structural requirements, load cases, factors of safety, margin policies, and verification approaches
• Lead architectural trades involving mass, stiffness, strength, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and system performance
• Develop efficient load paths and lightweight primary and secondary structures, interfaces, brackets, housings, and mechanisms
• Perform and review hand calculations and FEA covering stress, stiffness, buckling, fatigue, joints, thermal distortion, modal response, and dynamic environments
• Develop and maintain structural models, loads documentation, margin summaries, and verification records
• Own material, fastener, joint, finish, and manufacturing-process selections for the launch and space environments
• Define structural qualification and acceptance-test programs covering static load, vibration, shock, and modal testing
• Lead test-to-model correlation and use test results to improve both hardware and analytical models
• Lead structural design reviews, failure investigations, risk-reduction efforts, and corrective actions
• Work across thermal, avionics, mechanisms, controls, and systems teams to define interfaces and resolve coupled design challenges
• Partner with manufacturing and suppliers to develop repeatable fabrication, inspection, assembly, and production processes
• Identify structural risks early and create focused analysis or testing plans to retire them
• Mentor engineers and establish sound structural design, analysis, documentation, and test practices
• Drive mass reduction and design simplification without compromising structural integrity

Benefits

• Generous benefits including health, dental, vision, and retirement plans.
• Paid time off, holidays, and flexible policies to support balance.
• Professional growth opportunities through training and development.
• The chance to own high-impact work that directly shapes the future of robotics & space!
• A collaborative, mission-driven culture where craftsmanship and innovation are celebrated.

What This Job Offers

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