Mechanical Engineer (Payload Module Jettison Systems)

The posting, as Stoke Space wrote it

At Stoke, we believe a thriving space economy will enable a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable future here on Earth. That is why we’re building Nova, our fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicle. Designed for daily flight, Nova tackles the core challenges of space transportation by reducing cost, increasing availability, and improving reliability. By radically lowering launch costs and increasing flight cadence, we’re helping create a truly scalable space industry.

Our team is mission-driven, collaborative, and empowered to take ownership of their work. If you want to work alongside some of the most dedicated and talented people on Earth, we’d love to have you join us.

Description

We're looking for a Mechanical Engineer with rock-solid fundamentals, a love of mechanisms, and a bias for action to own the payload fairing jettison system on Nova. You'll own the system end to end: the separation and clearance analysis, the pneumatics, actuators, and mechanisms that make it work, the integrated tests that prove it, and the operation and reuse of that hardware after flight. You'll carry the current system to flight and help define the next generation of separation and deployment systems for our reusable fairing. If you want one critical system that is yours from analysis to flight, this role is for you.

Responsibilities

• Own the fairing jettison system from requirements definition and analysis through verification, vehicle integration, flight operations, refurbishment, and reuse
• Develop and run jettison dynamics and clearance analyses, including dispersions, to show margin for each mission; derive system requirements and loads, and correlate the analysis to test data
• Design, analyze, procure, qualify, and integrate pneumatics, actuators, and mechanisms
• Create CAD models and manufacturing drawings with proper GD&T
• Work directly with machinists, technicians, and suppliers to build and test your hardware, on schedule and on budget
• Plan and run integrated jettison tests, from development through qualification
• Troubleshoot failures, disposition non-conformances, and drive root cause corrective action
• Lead design reviews and communicate technical decisions clearly
• Run trade studies on separation and deployment architectures for our next-generation reusable fairing, payload adapters, and dispensers

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field
• 5+ years of hands-on engineering experience designing, building, and testing hardware
• Exceptional command of mechanical engineering fundamentals (statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, heat transfer, fluid mechanics)
• Experience designing, analyzing, and testing pneumatics, actuators, or mechanisms
• Proficiency with 3D CAD and creating detailed manufacturing drawings
• Working knowledge of GD&T per ASME Y14.5
• Experience with structural analysis, both hand calcs and FEA
• Hands-on test exper

[…]
dent of the U.S. (i.e., current Green Card holder), or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

Equal Opportunity

The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including with respect to disability and veteran status. It is committed to compliance with all equal opportunity laws, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title VII. It does not discriminate on the basis of nationality, race, citizenship, immigration status, or any other protected class when it comes to employment practices, including hiring.

Employment at the Company is contingent upon satisfactory completion of reference and background checks, and on your ability to prove your identity and authorization to work in the U.S. for the Company. Employees must comply with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services employment verification requirements, and, therefore, they must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 at the start of employment and re-verify authorization to work periodically.

Separate from this I-9 process, as noted above, this position entails access to certain technology and technical data that is restricted under U.S. export control laws and regulations. Employment or continued employment may be conditioned on your legal authorization to work with or have access to export control materials as necessary to perform your job.

Candidate Rights & Accommodations

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete the application or participate in the interview process, please contact careers@stokespace.com . Requests will be handled in accordance with applicable laws. Please do not include medical or other confidential information in your initial request.

For more information about your rights, please refer to the "Know Your Rights" notice here .

E-Verify

Stoke Space uses E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.

For more information on the right to work, please refer to the poster here .