Senior Mechanisms Engineer (TVC Actuation)
Castelion Corporation•Rio Rancho, NM
About The Position
We are seeking a Senior Mechanisms Engineer to design and deliver thrust vector control (TVC) actuation systems for Castelion's long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. This role is critical to enabling precise, high-bandwidth thrust vectoring under extreme dynamic and thermal environments. You will work hands-on with multidisciplinary engineering teams to design, analyze, build, and validate TVC actuators and associated mechanisms in a fast-paced, hardware-driven environment.
Requirements
- Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- 5+ years of experience in mechanism and actuator design for aerospace or high-performance dynamic systems
- Strong background in electromechanical actuators (EMAs), including motor-driven systems, gear reduction, and torque transmission
- Experience designing high-load, high-bandwidth actuation systems such as TVC, control surface actuation, or similar applications
- Familiarity with motor selection (e.g., BLDC), position sensing (encoders/resolvers), and actuator feedback integration
- Proficiency in CAD and analysis tools (e.g., NX, SolidWorks, ANSYS, or equivalent)
- Experience with structural analysis, fatigue/life assessment, and tolerance stack-up analysis
- Familiarity with high-temperature materials, lubrication strategies, and operation in extreme environments
- Experience with hardware build, test, and troubleshooting in a lab or flight hardware environment
- Strong problem-solving mindset, thriving in a fast-paced, hardware-rich, high flight cadence environment
- U.S. citizenship is required
Responsibilities
- Design and develop TVC actuation systems, including actuators, linkages, mounts, and load paths for high-performance propulsion systems
- Lead the architecture and detailed design of electromechanical actuator (EMA) systems, including gear trains, bearings, and structural components
- Perform analysis of loads, stiffness, backlash, bandwidth, and dynamic response to ensure precise and stable thrust vectoring performance
- Work closely with propulsion, control electronics, GNC, and structures teams to ensure seamless integration of TVC systems with vehicle architecture
- Conduct tolerance analysis, lubrication strategy development, and life/reliability assessments for high-duty-cycle, high-load systems
- Support prototyping, assembly, and hardware bring-up, including troubleshooting and root cause analysis of actuator and mechanism performance issues
- Define and execute qualification and environmental test plans, including vibration, thermal, and shock testing
- Optimize designs for mass, stiffness, thermal robustness, reliability, and manufacturability
- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to best practices in actuator and mechanism design
- Partner closely with program leadership to make technical trades aligned with mission success
Benefits
- Meaningful long-term equity
- Four (4) weeks of paid time off
- Ten (10) company-paid holidays
- Comprehensive health benefits - including 100% employee-covered medical and strong dependent coverage
- Dental and vision plans
- Paid parental leave
- $100 monthly fitness stipend
- Onsite EV charging
- Catered meals
- Company-covered food during high-demand periods
- Fully stocked kitchen
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
