Senior Propulsion & Ordnance Engineer

STEM Boomerang•Rio Rancho, NM

About The Position

Castelion was founded to restore America’s ability to field advanced weapons at speed and scale. Inspired by the engineering urgency of the WWII and Apollo eras, we combine rapid iteration, vertical integration, and scalable manufacturing to deliver affordable, high-performance strike systems. Our mission: rebuild industrial agility to strengthen national security and outpace evolving threats. We are seeking a Senior Propulsion & Ordnance Engineer to design and deliver ignition and energetic systems for Castelion's long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. This role is critical to enabling reliable motor ignition, flight termination, and stage separation through robust, high-performance energetic devices. You will work hands-on with multidisciplinary engineering teams to design, analyze, build, and validate ignitors, detonators, destruct charges, linear shaped charges, and related systems in a fast-paced, hardware-driven environment.

Requirements

Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or related field
5+ years of experience in propulsion, ignition systems, or ordnance/energetics design for aerospace or defense applications
Strong background in rocket motor ignitors, detonators, initiation systems, and/or explosive devices such as shaped charges or destruct systems
Experience with energetic materials, initiation chains, and safe handling practices
Familiarity with AFTS or flight termination systems and associated hardware
Experience with ground testing of energetic systems, including instrumentation and data analysis
Proficiency in analysis and modeling tools (e.g., MATLAB, ANSYS, or equivalent)
Experience with hardware build, integration, and troubleshooting in a lab or test environment
Strong problem-solving mindset, thriving in a fast-paced, hardware-rich, high test cadence environment

Responsibilities

Design and deliver ignition and energetic systems for Castelion's long-range hypersonic strike vehicles.
Enable reliable motor ignition, flight termination, and stage separation through robust, high-performance energetic devices.
Work hands-on with multidisciplinary engineering teams to design, analyze, build, and validate ignitors, detonators, destruct charges, linear shaped charges, and related systems.
Conduct ground testing of energetic systems, including instrumentation and data analysis.
Build, integrate, and troubleshoot hardware in a lab or test environment.

Benefits

Meaningful equity for all full-time employees
Four (4) weeks of paid time off
Ten (10) company paid holidays
Medical plans at 100% employee covered and 80% of dependent coverage
Dental & Vision: 90% for employees and 80% for dependents
FSA/HSA options
401k plan
Paid Parental Leave: Up to 10 weeks for birthing parents, up to 4 weeks for non-birthing parents (additional paid pregnancy leave for CA employees)
Frequently catered lunches and team meals
Company-covered meals when extra time or effort is required
Fully stocked kitchen with unlimited snacks and drinks
$100 monthly fitness stipend
Onsite electric vehicle charging