Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Components Engineer II

Rocket Lab•Long Beach, CA

23h•Onsite

About The Position

Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Components Engineer II for its propulsion engineering team in Long Beach, California. The role owns propulsion and fluidic development at both system and component levels, supporting the Space Systems division and programs for civil, commercial, and defense customers. The engineer will lead end-to-end product or system development, from conceptual and detailed design through qualification, production, and acceptance testing. The role also includes technical leadership, project coordination, review and approval of engineering deliverables, test execution and analysis, stakeholder communication, risk-based decisions, mentorship, and development of team and company engineering practices. The position may involve prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, and computer work, with occasional exposure to moderate noise, dust, and fumes in production areas. Rocket Lab offers competitive base pay and company stock, along with a benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision coverage; paid vacation and sick time; paid holidays; flexible spending and dependent care accounts; paid parental leave; disability and life insurance; and a 401(k) plan with company match. Additional perks include subsidized EV charging, fitness and gym options, snacks and beverages, and employee discounts. The California base pay range is $132,000–$198,000.

Requirements

At least 8 years of experience in propulsion system development or an equivalent high-performance field.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, such as aerospace, mechanical, mechatronics, or another technical engineering discipline.
Detailed mechanical design experience using NX or equivalent industry-standard CAD software.
Experience with Product Lifecycle Management software such as Teamcenter, Windchill, or similar.
Track record of design reviews and approving release of flight parts, qualification reports, and flight-hardware decisions.
Experience with end-to-end development, including gathering requirements, detailed design, qualification, production, and acceptance testing.
Excellent communication skills and ability to work well in a team environment.
Hands-on integration and testing experience, ideally using National Instruments equipment and software.
Experience working on propulsion systems using different storable propellants, including electrical and chemical systems.
U.S. citizenship and willingness to obtain a security clearance, as required by program requirements.

Nice To Haves

Genuine passion for engineering, a curious mindset, and willingness to learn.
Comfort working with substantial ambiguity and making decisions using engineering principles, available literature and standards, technical risk assessments, test data, and physics-based models.
Ability to identify steps needed to achieve high-level technical goals, schedule them, and manage delivery against the plan.
Experience developing requirements and verification sets, writing test plans, performing tests, and writing test reports.
Ability to use Python for data manipulation and post-processing.
Demonstrated hands-on engineering skills, inside or outside the workplace.
Experience with GD&T and engineering drawings.
Experience using National Instruments data acquisition systems.
Experience testing and troubleshooting flight hardware.
Master’s or PhD.

Responsibilities

Own development of new or existing products or systems and act as technical lead through the end-to-end development process.
Create conceptual and detailed CAD designs for propulsion system components and perform performance calculations and analysis.
Review and approve drawings, 3D PMI, reports, and specifications prepared by others.
Plan, set up, instrument, and execute tests, and analyze test data.
Communicate with internal and external project stakeholders.
Make technical, risk-based decisions to select appropriate solutions to engineering challenges.
Manage projects by building and maintaining schedules, identifying priorities, assigning tasks to engineers and technicians, and communicating status to leadership and other teams.
Mentor and coach team members in technical and professional development.
Define and maintain team standards through documentation, training, coaching, and review of others’ work.
Contribute to Rocket Lab engineering process development and documentation in areas of expertise.

Benefits

Company stock as part of total compensation.
Employee Stock Purchase Program with a 15% discount on company stock.
Medical plans, including HMO, PPO, and a zero-cost HDHP option with a significant company HSA contribution.
Dental and vision coverage.
Paid vacation and sick time.
11 paid holidays.
Flexible spending and dependent care accounts.
Paid parental leave.
Disability and life insurance.
401(k) retirement plan with company match.
Subsidized EV charging.
Onsite fitness centers where available.
Discounted gym memberships.
Complimentary snacks and beverages.
50% employee discount on the company merch store.
Other employee discounts.