Star Catcher
Senior Spacecraft Mechanisms Engineer
Jacksonville, Florida, United States · Senior · Full-time · Posted Oct 19, 2026
- Experience
- Minimum of 10 years designing and qualifying spacecraft mechanisms.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering field.
- Visa sponsorship
- 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 required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State, to comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including ITAR.
About the job
Leads spacecraft mechanism architecture, design, analysis, testing, and qualification for spacecraft supporting Star Catcher’s orbital power grid.
What you'll do
- Own mechanism architecture and requirements for deployment, pointing, hold-down, and release systems.
- Direct mechanism analysis and development, including margin analysis, deployment dynamics, and qualification and life testing.
- Coordinate mechanisms across engineering and manufacturing teams, provide technical documentation, and mentor engineers and technicians.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or related engineering field.
- At least 10 years designing and qualifying spacecraft mechanisms.
- Leadership of space systems development, including mechanism ownership from concept through qualification and flight.
- Experience with actuator and drivetrain selection, vacuum-compatible bearings and lubricants, hold-down and release devices, CAD/GD&T, and spacecraft mechanism torque and force margin analysis.
Nice to have
- Master’s or PhD in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
- Experience with deployable structures, multibody dynamics or kinematic simulation, or pointing/gimbal mechanisms.
Tools
Autodesk Inventor, NASA-STD-5017, Adams, Inventor Dynamic Simulation, stepper motors, brushless DC motors, harmonic drives, encoders
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative