Senior SRM Quality Engineer - Energetics

The posting, as Ursa Major wrote it

The future of aerospace and defense starts here.

Ursa Major was founded to revolutionize how America and its allies access and apply high-performance propulsion, from hypersonics to solid rocket motors, satellite maneuvering and launch. We design and deliver propulsion and defense systems that solve the most urgent and critical national security demands.

Overview

The Senior SRM Quality Engineer – Energetics owns product and process quality for solid rocket motor propellant manufacturing: ammonium perchlorate (AP) milling, propellant mixing, casting, and cure. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role embedded with our Manufacturing, Engineering, and Development teams, with a primary mission of ensuring process control and product integrity from raw energetic materials through a cured, inspected motor.

This engineer will also build out our in-house radiographic NDT capability, working alongside a Level 3 NDT technician. That means optimizing our existing X-ray system in the near term, then standing up additional radiography systems as program needs grow, and using radiographic findings to drive improvements back into the propellant processes. While the role supports broader SRM quality (insulation, liners, composites, FOD control) and compliance efforts, energetics process quality and radiography are its core.

This role reports into the Quality organization and is fully integrated with the SRM energetics, product, and manufacturing teams. It works closely with the Level 3 NDT technician, the site Radiation Safety Officer, EHS and process safety, propellant engineering, and the SRM-focused supply chain engineer.

Core Responsibilities

Energetics Process Quality

Own the quality of propellant manufacturing processes in close partnership with our design and energetics engineers, who set product and process requirements. Quality's role is to ensure those requirements are validated and consistently met in production for:

• AP milling and particle size measurements/morphology: particle size distribution verification, mill parameter control, moisture control, lot traceability, and blend ratios of coarse/fine fractions.
• Mixing: raw material acceptance and lot control, ingredient weigh-up verification, mix sequence and parameter control (time, temperature, vacuum, shear), and in-process sampling and testing (e.g., viscosity, pot life, end-of-mix properties).
• Casting: vacuum casting parameter control, pot life management, void prevention, flow and fill verification, and witness/test specimen generation.
• Cure: cure cycle verification and monitoring against engineering-defined profiles, oven and temperature uniformity verification, data recording and review, and post-cure property testing (e.g., hardness, mechanical properties, density).

Within these processes, the engineer will

• Work with design and energetics engineers to identify critical process parameters and key characteristics, then implement the sampling plans, inspections, and

[…]
ods (rheology, mechanical properties, burn rate, particle size analysis).

• Familiarity with DoD energetics and explosives safety requirements (e.g., DESR 6055.09).
• Experience with insulation, liner, and composite case manufacturing.
• Experience in cleanroom or FOD-sensitive environments.

Colorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role, which is $107,000 - $133,000, determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy.

Classification: Full-time Exempt

Benefits Include: (Please note, Interns are not eligible for benefits)

• Unlimited PTO - Vacation, Sick, Personal, and Bereavement
• Paid Parental and Adoptive Leave
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Tax Advantage Accounts (HSA/FSA)
• Employer Paid Short and Long Term Disability, Basic Life, AD&D
• Additional Benefit Options Including Voluntary Life and Emergency Medical Transport
• EAP Program
• Retirement Savings Plan - 401k with Company Match

How To Apply

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply by filling out the application below and clicking "Submit Application". This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will remain open until filled or adjusted based on the volume of applicants.

NOTE: Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.

Must be a U.S. Person (this includes U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents).

Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

We’re an equal-opportunity employer. You will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

No outside recruiters, please.