Mechanical Engineer I

Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (GSE) Design Engineer

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

Responsibilities

Serve as lead mechanical designer & project manager for a variety of projects, including production tooling, material handling equipment, test stands, and launch infrastructure.

Own the entire scope of each project through requirements generation, design, analysis, material/component selection, construction, testing and activation.

Develop 3D CAD of components and assemblies.

Perform structural analysis on components, weldments, & assemblies using FEA & hand calculations.

Work with manufacturing engineers, fabricators, welders, and third party vendors to determine manufacturability of designs & execute builds.

Host design reviews for internal customers & stakeholders to receive and incorporate feedback into designs.

Perform detailed drafting of part and assembly drawings following GD&T company drafting standards.

Support fabricators during the build phase to provide guidance and troubleshoot manufacturing issues as needed.

Develop & execute structural proof test plans & activation test plans to validate the as-built design prior to customer hand off.

Produce design documentation to communicate design intent, usability, operations, and maintenance of new products to internal customers.

Use mechanical engineering principles and fundamentals to provide reliable and manufacturable solutions for technically challenging problems.

Collaborate with Vehicle, Test, Manufacturing, Production, and Launch engineers & technicians to establish individual task scope and feasibility.

Demonstrate a willingness to seek creative, novel, and different ways to accomplish outcomes.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelors Degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or related engineering discipline
• 2+ years of focused, hands on experience designing mechanical or structural systems.
• Strong understanding of first-principles in Mechanical and Structural design.
• Strong 3D CAD experience, preferably in Siemens NX/Teamcenter.
• Experience performing structural analysis of parts and assemblies, utilizing FEA or hand calculations, and communicating results of the analysis.
• Comprehension of design fundamentals including tolerancing, ASME Standards, ASTM, and GD&T.
• Knowledge of fabrication, welding, machining and assembly practices.
• Capable of balancing detailed design tasks with higher level project management type tasks, including budgeting, scheduling, and communications.
• Able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure fast-paced environment
• Works well in a collaborative multidisciplinary environment and able to follow direction.
• Willingness to travel in support of GSE activations at multiple Firefly locations up to 25% of the time.
• Ability to travel up to 10%

Desired

• Demonstrated creation of successful Ground Support Equipment (GSE) or related structural designs, including welded structures, mechanisms, production & manufacturing tooling, test fixturing, or launch site infrastructure.
• Experience in fluid system design (pneumatic, hydraulics).
• Experience in developing test and operations procedure writing.
• Experience in an oil & gas, R&D or aerospace environment
• Familiarity with instrumentation, data acquisition, and control methods.
• Familiarity with ASME, AWS, AISC, and AFSPCMAN standards related to structural design

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you 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 the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.