Cowboy Space
Principal Turbo Hydrodynamicist
$170K–$250K
Kent, Washington · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Sep 15, 2026
- Experience
- 12+ years.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field.
- Visa sponsorship
- Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
About the job
Owns hydrodynamic design, analysis, testing, and iteration of rocket-engine turbopumps from concept through qualification.
What you'll do
- Design pump primary and secondary flowpaths to meet efficiency, suction, head-rise, axial thrust, and rotordynamic requirements across the operating envelope.
- Lead hydrodynamic analysis and pump test campaigns, validating results against powerpack and engine data.
- Work with manufacturing and hot-fire teams to resolve issues, investigate anomalies, and improve hardware.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field.
- Experience with turbomachinery hydrodynamic or aerodynamic design and analysis for flight hardware or high-performance rotating machinery.
- Experience with pump sizing, flowpath geometry, and pumped-fluid material selection.
- Hands-on experience taking rotating hardware from design through build and test.
Nice to have
- Experience with liquid cryogenic rocket engine turbopumps or reusable propulsion systems.
- Experience with cavitation and suction performance, turbine aerodynamics, rotordynamics/structural integration, or mentoring engineers.
Pay
$170,000 – $250,000 annually (base salary)
Tools
meanline/throughflow, single- and multiphase CFD
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative