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Senior Fluids Engineer

Cowboy Space Corporation· Launch & Propulsion Engineering
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Kent, Washington$160k - $185kFull-timePosted 3mo ago

About the role

Design and develop fluid system hardware for the vehicle’s propulsion, fluids, and thermal management architectures across the full lifecycle from concept to flight, delivering hardware that meets performance, mass, and reliability requirements in demanding launch and space environments.

Responsibilities

  • Design valves (flow control, isolation, regulation, check, and relief) for propellant, pressurant, and thermal fluid systems used on propulsion and launch vehicle systems.
  • Develop fluid storage hardware including propellant tanks, pressure vessels, and accumulators from concept through qualification.
  • Design fluid routing architecture: tubing runs, manifolds, fittings, flex lines, and quick-disconnects for vehicle integration.
  • Own fluid subsystem layout and integration, ensuring compatibility across propulsion, thermal, and pneumatic systems.
  • Perform hydraulic and pneumatic analysis (pressure drop, flow distribution, water hammer, thermal transients) to size components and verify system performance.
  • Perform structural analysis (FEA, hand calcs) and validate with test and flight data.
  • Select materials compatible with propellants, pressures, and operating environments (cryogenic, high-pressure, corrosive).
  • Generate detailed component and assembly drawings, specifications, and interface control documents.
  • Support and execute component-level and system-level test campaigns (proof, burst, flow, leak, cycle life).
  • Work directly with manufacturing and technicians to resolve build issues, improve producibility, and support rapid iteration.
  • Support vehicle integration, fill/drain operations, and ground system interfaces.
  • Contribute to anomaly investigation, post-flight inspection, and design improvements for reuse and reliability.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical, or related engineering field.
  • 3+ years of experience designing fluid system hardware (valves, regulators, tanks, tubing, or fittings) for flight or high-performance applications.
  • Experience with fluid system analysis: pressure drop, flow sizing, structural analysis of pressure vessels, or thermal-fluid modeling.
  • Hands-on experience taking hardware from design through build and test.
  • Proficiency with CAD tools (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks) for detailed part and assembly design.

Skills

Required:Fluid system designFluid system analysisCAD (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks)

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
Company profileWebsite

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