Spacecraft Mechanical Design Engineer

Star Catcher•Jacksonville, FL

About The Position

Star Catcher Industries, Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida, is hiring a Spacecraft Mechanical Design Engineer to support development of space-to-space power-beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, an orbital power grid. The role is responsible for designing, detailing, and maintaining configuration control of mechanical systems and components used on spacecraft, satellites, and other space-related technologies. The engineer will create and release mechanical designs and drawings, maintain spacecraft CAD and mass-property records, resolve interfaces across engineering disciplines, and work with machinists and suppliers on production considerations. The role also supports hands-on hardware build and integration, documentation, and presentation of technical data that justifies design choices. The company describes its mission as building technology to wirelessly beam energy to spacecraft’s existing solar panels and creating an energy grid in space to support the orbital economy. Employment offers are contingent on a background check and proof of eligibility to work in the United States. The role is subject to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including ITAR; candidates must meet the stated citizenship, residency, protected-individual, or authorization eligibility criteria.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, structural, or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
At least three years of experience designing, drafting, and releasing flight hardware, ground support equipment, or test hardware in an aerospace manufacturing environment or other relevant industry.
Experience producing production-quality parametric models, fabrication drawings, and assembly drawings with GD&T per ASME Y14.5 in Autodesk Inventor or equivalent.
Experience working in a managed CAD data environment, including revision control, release states, and engineering change processing.
Experience maintaining a spacecraft or vehicle mass-properties record, including mass, center of gravity, and inertia reporting against an allocated budget.
Hands-on experience in a shop, lab, or cleanroom supporting hardware build, integration, or environmental testing.
Creative problem-solving skills and the ability to develop innovative solutions to advanced engineering challenges.
Willingness to follow company standards and procedures.

Nice To Haves

Master’s or PhD degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
Experience with deployable structures and their stowed and deployed configurations.
Experience designing sheet metal, machined, composite, or bonded assemblies.
Structural hand calculations or finite element analysis sufficient to size parts ahead of formal analysis.
Tolerance stack-up analysis using worst-on-worst, RSS, and statistical methods.
CAD automation using iLogic, Python, or equivalent for templates, parts libraries, and drawing checks.
Familiarity with regulations and standards relevant to space missions and operations.
Ability to communicate and work effectively in a multidisciplinary team while prioritizing tasks, multiple projects, and personnel.

Responsibilities

Design mechanical components and assemblies in Autodesk Inventor to meet program requirements.
Create fabrication and assembly drawings using GD&T, and process them through drawing review and release.
Maintain spacecraft CAD configuration, including assembly structure, part numbering, revision state, and current stowed and deployed envelopes for deployable structures.
Track spacecraft mass properties against the allocated budget and report growth and margin at each design review.
Perform tolerance stack-up analyses using worst-on-worst, RSS, and statistical methods where appropriate.
Resolve mechanical interfaces and clearances across structures, mechanisms, thermal, optical, and avionics hardware, and drive fit issues to closure.
Partner with machinists and suppliers on producibility, tolerance, and finish; support make-versus-buy and fabrication planning for owned parts.
Design enclosures for circuit cards and other electrical components, coordinating with Electrical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, and Structural Analysis to protect electronics for launch and space environments.
Support hands-on build and integration of flight hardware, ground support equipment, and test hardware.
Disposition fit, clearance, and installation issues found during bench work.
Maintain drafting templates, standard-parts libraries, and modeling practices to keep released models and drawings consistent.
Write technical documentation supporting hardware analysis, build, test, and integration to meet program requirements.
Document and present technical data that justifies design choices.