Mechanical Engineer
Cowboy Space Corporation· Spacecraft Engineering
San Carlos, California$125k - $175kFull-timePosted 5mo ago
About the role
Senior Mechanical Engineer responsible for designing and building flight-ready spacecraft mechanical systems, owning hardware from concept through flight, and collaborating across structures, mechanisms, thermal, packaging, propulsion, power, avionics, GNC, and software teams to deliver high-performance, flight-ready designs.
Responsibilities
- Own mechanical design of spacecraft components and assemblies from concept through production
- Design and develop structures, mechanisms, and thermal solutions for space environments
- Develop and maintain engineering documentation, drawings, and release processes
- Perform analysis including FEA, thermal, and tolerance stack-ups to validate designs
- Drive rapid prototyping, build, and test cycles to accelerate hardware development
- Collaborate cross-functionally with propulsion, power, avionics, GNC, and software engineering teams
- Support integration, environmental testing, and launch readiness activities
- Troubleshoot hardware issues, perform root cause analysis, and implement design improvements
- Work with suppliers and manufacturers to ensure high-quality, scalable production
- Balance performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule in design decisions
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- 5+ years of experience designing mechanical systems for aerospace or high-performance hardware
- Experience taking hardware from concept through build and test
- Strong fundamentals in mechanics, materials, and thermal systems
- Proficiency with CAD (e.g., NX, SolidWorks, or similar)
- Experience working in fast-paced, hardware-focused development environments
Skills
Required:Mechanical design of spacecraft componentsStructures, mechanisms, and thermal solutionsEngineering documentation and release processesRapid prototyping, build, and test cyclesCross-functional collaborationSupplier and manufacturing liaison
Nice to have:FEA and thermal analysis
Benefits
- Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and eligible dependents
- 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Paid time off
- 10 paid holidays per calendar year
- Paid parental leave
- Relocation assistance if applicable
- Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks
Last updated Sep 6, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
About Cowboy Space Corporation
Powering Humanity From the High Frontier
Cowboy Space Corp. is building a power grid in outer space for artificial intelligence. It is an integrated system of satellites and rockets to haul high-performance compute and optical data transmission down from Low Earth Orbit. Earth's energy grid can't run at the pace of AI. We can.
Orbital Data CentersAI compute in spacesolar-powered data centersLow Earth Orbitpower grid in space
More open roles at Cowboy Space Corporation
- Senior Structures EngineeryesterdayKent, Washington · Structures
- Stage 1 Lead Engineer1w agoKent, Washington · Launch & Propulsion Engineering
- Navigation Sensor Hardware Engineer1w agoKent, Washington · Launch & Propulsion Engineering
- Optical Engineer, Test & Metrology1w agoSan Carlos, California · Lasers & Optical Communications Engineering
- Senior RF Engineer1w agoSan Carlos, California · Launch & Propulsion Engineering