Structures and Mechanisms Engineer, HLS

Mclaurin Aerospace • Houston, TX

21h • Onsite

About The Position

We have an exciting opportunity for a Structures and Mechanisms Engineer, HLS to join our JETS II contract team at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. This role involves performing risk-based structural insight reviews of commercial provider deliverables, conducting requirements traceability mapping, reviewing provider compliance with design and construction standards, and supporting the HLS Crew Structures Lead. The position also includes serving as the Responsible Engineer (RE) for NASA-owned GFP structural readiness, maintaining Confluence pages, reviewing project structural analyses, and coordinating with various teams to ensure GFP structural verification evidence is properly interpreted and communicated. Additionally, the role requires performing independent structural analyses using CAD/FEA tools to assess provider design maturity and structural margins, building and executing finite element models, and communicating findings to support decision-making.

Requirements

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree in Engineering
• Normally possess 5-10 years of related experience
• US Citizenship and the ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation is required.

Nice To Haves

• 3+ years of experience designing, analyzing, or building structural or mechanical systems (internship, competitive school projects, and research-based experience qualify)
• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, or structural engineering
• 5+ years of professional experience in any, or in support of the following industries: aerospace, automotive, aviation
• Familiarity with relevant NASA, DoD, ASME, and AIAA design & construction standards (e.g. NASA-STD-5001, NASA STD-5017, NASA-STD-5020, JSC 65828)
• Proficiency with the following FEA solvers: ABAQUS, ANSYS, or Nastran
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to succinctly present analytical results and recommendations

Responsibilities

• Perform risk based structural insight reviews of commercial provider deliverables, including design data books, stress analysis reports, verification plans, hazard reports, and test results.
• Conduct requirements traceability mapping between HLS structural requirements and provider Verification Events (VEs), identifying verification gaps, inconsistencies, or risks.
• Review provider compliance with HLS adjudicated design and construction standards, ensuring correct interpretation and application across provider hardware.
• Review qualification and acceptance test plans, test reports, and structural performance verification datasets for human rated lunar lander structural hardware.
• Engage with commercial providers through Structures & Mechanisms Insight Forums, including sessions related to NASA owned GFP.
• Support the HLS Crew Structures Lead through contribution to Blue Origin and SpaceX milestone readiness evaluations and additional insight duties as assigned.
• Serve as the Responsible Engineer (RE) for NASA owned GFP structural readiness within HLS Crew Structures, leading day to day tracking, documentation, and communication of GFP structural status and verification progress.
• Maintain authoritative ownership of the Crew Structures GFP Confluence pages, ensuring clear documentation of structural analyses, load cases, configuration changes, verification evidence, structural risks, and readiness posture for all GFP items.
• Review NASA GFP project structural analyses, interface requirements, qualification and acceptance results, materials data, and integration documentation to evaluate structural sufficiency for lander integration.
• Coordinate across NASA GFP provisioning teams, HLS SE&I, CrewCo, SVS, provider insight teams, and integration stakeholders to ensure GFP structural verification evidence is properly interpreted, communicated, and dispositioned.
• Identify structural risks or verification gaps affecting GFP readiness and elevate these to the HLS Crew Structures Lead for action, formal risk management, or follow up within insight workflows.
• Provide monthly GFP project structural readiness status updates to the HLS Crew Structures Lead, supporting CrewCo's monthly reporting cycle with updates on accomplishments, risks, concerns, upcoming deliverables, and verification progress.
• Perform independent structural analyses using CAD/FEA tools such as Creo, FEMAP, NX, and the NASTRAN solver (primary code) to assess provider design maturity, load path behavior, and structural margins.
• Build, refine, and execute finite element models to validate provider assumptions, identify structural sensitivities, and disclose risk areas prior to program milestones.
• Conduct targeted NASA structural evaluations to independently characterize structural risk, support risk reduction activities, and strengthen insight understanding of commercial lander architectures.
• Clearly communicate analysis findings, model results, and independent assessments to the HLS Crew Structures Lead to support decision making, milestone preparation, and structural readiness assessments.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Positive work-life balance
• 100% Employer paid insurance including: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, and long-term disability
• 11 paid holidays annually
• Generous PTO
• 401k after 12 months of service with employer match
• Education assistance
• Relocation assistance (if applicable)

What This Job Offers

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