System Architect

Stoke Space • Kent, WA

1d • $129,150 - $327,810

About The Position

As a System Architect at Stoke, you will be a core member of a small, agile team developing architecture concepts and system requirements for future iterations of the Nova launch system. You will translate customer objectives and business goals into feasible technical concepts, perform first-order analyses and trade studies, and recommend concepts for further development. You will estimate mass, power, cost, and performance across technical disciplines despite limited information and significant uncertainty.

In collaboration with Nova product development teams, you will support implementation of architecture concepts in hardware, learn from integrated testing and flight operations, and apply those lessons to future architecture improvements. The role calls for someone who can stay focused, move quickly, self-direct, and learn on the fly.

Stoke is developing Nova, a fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicle designed for daily flight. The company aims to reduce launch costs, increase availability, and improve reliability to help create a scalable space industry. This position requires access to technology and technical data restricted under U.S. export control laws; candidates must meet the stated ITAR eligibility requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering or a similar field.
• 10+ years of experience in an engineering role on a complex product requiring high performance, high reliability, and a rapid development process.
• Exceptional command of fundamentals in one or more of these disciplines: aerospace structures, mechanisms, propulsion systems, avionics, software, or flight dynamics.
• Ability to understand and apply engineering fundamentals for first-order analysis across all disciplines.
• Ability to move quickly and make decisions in an environment of uncertainty.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Ability to lead and follow.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S. (current Green Card holder), or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), to meet ITAR requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree or PhD in aerospace engineering or a similar field.
• Experience on a launch vehicle and/or spacecraft program from early concept definition through flight test.

Responsibilities

• Listen to customer input and business goals, then develop conceptual system architecture, concept of operations (ConOps), and functional capabilities that meet customer and business objectives.
• Define system requirements to meet functional capabilities and ConOps, define product breakdown, and decompose requirements to lower-level products.
• Make assumptions quickly, perform first-order analysis to validate them, and estimate system and component performance based on limited information.
• Define system-level approaches to reliability, performance margin management, and incremental capability development, and maintain commonality in those approaches across the launch system throughout its lifecycle.
• Support architected products through their full lifecycle, including detailed design, integration, test, and operations.
• Provide cross-system technical insight and subject matter expertise to identify and mitigate risks during the product lifecycle.

Benefits

• Equity in the form of stock options for all full-time employees.
• Comprehensive benefits program, including subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Company-paid life and disability insurance.
• 401(k) plan with employer match.
• 4 weeks’ paid time off.
• 11 holidays, including an end-of-year closure.
• Paid parental leave.
• On-site gym or monthly wellness stipend, depending on location.
• Dog-friendly offices.

What This Job Offers

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