Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer - Composites and Structures

Umbra • Santa Barbara, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Umbra is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer to join its multidisciplinary engineering team. The role contributes to the design and development of next-generation space systems and mechanisms, with a particular focus on composite structures for spacecraft. The position is based on-site at the company’s Santa Barbara/Goleta, California office.

The engineer designs and analyzes spacecraft hardware, including structures and deployable panels, and supports the design through fabrication, integration, qualification, and testing. The role works closely with cross-functional engineering teams, the Chief Engineer, Systems Architects, vendors, technicians, and manufacturing engineers. Occasional support for launch and test campaigns outside regular hours, including evenings and weekends, is required.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field.
• 8–10+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience focused on composite materials and structural design.
• Strong understanding of composite materials, fabrication processes, and inspection methods.
• Experience performing structural analyses, including first-principles calculations and finite element analysis (FEA).
• Hands-on experience manufacturing, assembling, and integrating complex mechanical structures.
• Proficiency in CAD software, including design and drafting in accordance with ASME Y14.5 standards.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to independently diagnose technical challenges and communicate effective solutions.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field.
• 15+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience specializing in composite structures and design.
• Experience analyzing honeycomb core structures, including failure modes and damage tolerance.
• Experience developing finite element models for jitter prediction and structural performance.
• Experience designing or analyzing solar arrays and other deployable mechanisms.
• Experience performing thermal analyses and optimizing structural designs for weight and efficiency.
• Experience identifying and resolving manufacturing or supplier quality issues.
• Familiarity with electronics assemblies, wiring harnesses, and mechanical-electrical integration.
• Experience working in Agile development environments and collaborating across multidisciplinary engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to derive and refine requirements.
• Perform detailed structural and deployable-panel design.
• Analyze launch loads and on-orbit load cases.
• Build finite element models to estimate on-orbit micro-vibration propagation through the spacecraft.
• Evaluate and select fabrication vendors.
• Work with the Chief Engineer and Systems Architects to optimize designs for performance and manufacturability.
• Create design documentation, including drawings, design guides, and Interface Control Documents (ICDs).
• Own designs through the full build and test lifecycle.
• Develop and execute work instructions, test plans, and test reports.
• Support complex secondary operations, including solar cell laydown and string welding.
• Partner with technicians and manufacturing engineers to troubleshoot and resolve hardware issues.
• Manage vendors and ensure the quality of received components.
• Develop and conduct qualification campaigns.
• Provide mechanical engineering support to other engineering teams as needed.
• Occasionally support launch and test campaigns outside regular hours, including evenings and weekends.
• Perform other duties as required.

Benefits

• Flexible Time Off
• Sick, Family & Medical Leave
• Employer-funded medical, dental, vision, life, long-term disability, and short-term disability coverage
• Employee-funded voluntary life, critical illness, accident, hospital indemnity, and pet insurance
• 401(k) with a 3% non-elective company contribution
• Stock options
• Free parking
• Free lunch in the office daily

What This Job Offers

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