Cowboy Space
Senior Mechanisms Engineer - Satellite Mechanisms
$150K–$180K
Kent, Washington · On-site · Senior · Full-time · Posted Sep 23, 2026
- Experience
- 5+ years required; 10+ years preferred.
- Education
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
- Visa sponsorship
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum. ITAR section also lists protected individuals or applicants eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.
About the job
Own and develop a spacecraft mechanism subsystem from concept through design, build, test, and flight, working across engineering, manufacturing, and mission teams.
What you'll do
- Design, analyze, and validate mechanisms for launch, deployment, and mission-life environments.
- Plan and execute qualification and acceptance testing; troubleshoot anomalies and implement design improvements.
- Create engineering drawings and documentation, and support factory-floor work, spacecraft integration, launch operations, and on-orbit response.
What they ask for
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
- 5+ years designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for spacecraft, launch vehicles, or high-performance hardware.
- Experience taking hardware from concept through build, integration, and test; strong fundamentals in structural mechanics, kinematics, materials, and manufacturing processes.
- Proficiency with CAD (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or Creo), ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards, and FEA tools (ANSYS, Nastran, or Abaqus).
Nice to have
- 10+ years designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for spacecraft or high-performance flight hardware.
- Experience with spacecraft deployables, release devices, hands-on prototyping and machining, or spacecraft thermal environments.
Pay
$150,000 – $180,000 annually (base salary)
Tools
NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, ASME Y14.5 GD&T, ANSYS, Nastran, Abaqus
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative