Spacecraft Propulsion Components Engineer I

Rocket Lab Corporation•Long Beach, CA

15h•$82,400 - $113,300

About The Position

Rocket Lab is seeking a Spacecraft Propulsion Components Engineer I to join its propulsion engineering team in Long Beach, California. The role owns development of spacecraft propulsion and fluidic products and systems at both system and component levels, supporting the Space Systems division and programs for civil, commercial, and defense customers. The engineer guides development from concept through qualification and production, contributes technical leadership and project management, and communicates with internal and external stakeholders. The role also supports engineering standards, process documentation, and the technical and professional development of team members.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline.
Experience in propulsion system development or another high-performance field.
U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.
Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Genuine passion for engineering, curiosity, and willingness to learn.
Detailed mechanical design experience using NX or equivalent industry-standard CAD software.
Experience using Product Lifecycle Management software such as Teamcenter, Windchill, or similar.
Comfort working with high levels of ambiguity.
Ability to make decisions using engineering principles, available literature and standards, technical risk assessments, test data, and physics-based models.
Experience with propulsion systems using different storable propellants, including electrical and chemical propulsion.
Track record of design reviews and approving release of flight parts, qualification reports, and flight-hardware decisions.
Experience identifying steps to achieve technical goals, scheduling the work, and managing delivery against a plan.
Experience developing requirements and verification sets, writing test plans, conducting tests, and writing test reports.
Experience with the end-to-end development process, including requirements gathering, detailed design, qualification, production, and acceptance testing.
Ability to use Python for data manipulation and post-processing.
Demonstrated hands-on engineering skills, at work or outside the workplace.
Hands-on integration and testing experience, ideally using National Instruments equipment and software.
Experience with GD&T and engineering drawings.
Experience using National Instruments data acquisition systems.
Experience testing and troubleshooting flight hardware.
Master’s or PhD in engineering.

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 produced by others.
Plan, set up, instrument, and execute tests, and analyze test data.
Communicate with project stakeholders inside and outside the team.
Make technical decisions based on risk to identify the most appropriate engineering solution.
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.
Set and maintain standards of excellence through documentation, training, coaching, and review of others’ work.
Contribute to Rocket Lab engineering process development and documentation in areas of experience.

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 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 merchandise store.
Other employee discounts.