Principal Turbo Hydrodynamicist
Cowboy Space Corporation· Launch & Propulsion Engineering
Kent, Washington$170k - $250kFull-timePosted 2mo ago
About the role
High-ownership role owning the hydrodynamic design of the rocket engine's turbopumps, from concept through build and test, including inducer/impeller/diffuser/volute components, flowpaths, leakage networks, and axial thrust balance.
Responsibilities
- Own pump primary and secondary flowpath hydrodynamic design from concept through qualification.
- Drive hydrodynamic design for maximum efficiency and suction performance while meeting head-rise, axial thrust, and rotordynamic requirements.
- Ensure hardware meets performance across the full operating box—start transients, deep throttle, off-nominal inlet NPSH, and repeated cycles.
- Lead hydrodynamic analysis (meanline/throughflow, single- and multiphase CFD) and validate against powerpack and engine test data.
- Define and execute pump test campaigns.
- Work directly with manufacturing to iterate quickly and resolve fabrication and assembly issues.
- Support hot-fire operations, anomaly investigation, and post-test hardware inspection and design iteration improvement cycles.
- Develop tools and best practices for the rest of the organization.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field.
- 12+ years of experience in turbomachinery hydrodynamic or aerodynamic design and analysis for flight hardware or high-performance rotating machinery.
- Experience with pump sizing, specific speed and suction specific speed selection, blade and passage geometry definition, and material selection for pumped-fluid compatibility.
- Experience with secondary flow and axial thrust analysis—leakage and cavity flow networks, balance piston, thrust piston, and wear ring sizing, seal and bearing coolant circuits, and net thrust balance across the operating box.
- Hands-on experience taking rotating hardware from design through build and test.
Skills
Required:Hydrodynamic design of turbopumpsMeanline/throughflow CFDRotordynamicsPump test campaigns
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 20, 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
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