Senior Spacecraft Structure Engineer

Team & Role:

You will be joining the Satellite Bus team and working on building the spacecraft structural system. You will own the structural design and analysis of satellite bus structures and mechanical assemblies, ensuring structural integrity, mass efficiency, manufacturability, and mission reliability. The role involves working across the full development lifecycle from concept design and structural analysis through manufacturing support, integration, and qualification testing.

Responsibilities:

• Own structural design and analysis of satellite bus systems including primary and secondary structures.

• Support the structure lifecycle from concept trade studies and preliminary sizing to detailed design, manufacturing support, integration, and qualification.

• Perform structural simulations including:

• Static and quasi-static load analysis

• Modal and frequency response analysis

• Random vibration analysis

• Shock analysis

• Buckling and stability analysis

• Fatigue and margin of safety calculations

• Conduct FEA simulations using Simcenter 3D (NX Nastran) to evaluate launch and operational load conditions.

• Support structural sizing and weight optimization of spacecraft structures and payload enclosures.

• Drive structural inputs for system architecture trades including stiffness, mass, load paths, mounting strategies, and packaging.

• Perform material and process selection based on stiffness-to-weight, strength, fatigue, thermal stability, and environmental durability.

• Apply DFM/DFA principles to ensure designs are manufacturability and assembly-friendly.

• Develop CAD models, manufacturing drawings, and assembly documentation.

• Conduct tolerance stack-up analysis and fitment validation for subsystem integration.

• Work closely with manufacturing teams for fabrication, surface treatments, and build planning.

• Correlate analysis models with structural test data and update FEA models accordingly.

• Collaborate with thermal, electrical, RF, AIT, and systems teams to ensure integrated spacecraft performance.

Requirements

Must-have Qualifications :

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.

• 3-6 years of experience in structural design or analysis for aerospace or high-reliability systems.

• Strong proficiency in:

• SolidWorks for CAD modeling and detailed drafting.

• Simcenter 3D (NX Nastran) for structural simulations and analysis.

• Strong understanding of:

• Mechanics of materials

• Structural dynamics and vibration environments

• Launch load conditions

• Fatigue and margin of safety calculations

• Experience with finite element modeling and structural sizing.

• Familiarity with materials and manufacturing processes for lightweight aerospace structures (machining, bonding, composites, inserts, surface treatments).

• Experience working closely with manufacturing and assembly teams to take designs to hardware.

• Familiarity with drawing standards, GD&T, and production-ready documentation.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Good-to-have :

• Experience with satellite structural architecture or spacecraft subsystems.

• Familiarity with thermal-structural coupling analysis.

• Experience performing tolerance stack-up analysis.

• Exposure to space qualification environments and structural testing.

• Experience working in private aerospace or hardware-focused startups.

• Hands-on involvement in hardware integration and environmental testing.

Benefits

• Fair compensation will be provided as per market standard.
• Experience rapid growth and start-up culture.
• Flexible Working Hours.
• Open to exploring, discussing and implementing new ideas and processes.
• Opportunity to work closely with the Founding Team at GalaxEye.
• Get a chance to work with Advisors holding senior positions and decades of experience.