Senior Mechanical Engineer - Spacecraft Instrument Mechanisms

About the role

Muon seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer to serve as a hardware expert in the design of instrument mechanisms. You’ll own the mechanical direction of the instrument mechanical subsystems from requirements definition to installation on the launch vehicle.  This will include direct collaboration with Muon’s engineering and instrument teams to understand requirements, execute designs, deliver robust hardware, pulling in relevant stakeholders (such as structural, thermal, electrical, etc) at the appropriate times to deliver a satellite on-time. The ideal candidate is a self-motivated engineer with a versatile skill set who is comfortable working across many layers of technical depth from individual components through system level. Previous experience with scanners/rotating instrument systems, thermal vacuum and vibration testing, and collaborating with engineering teams to refine designs for manufacturing and assembly processes is preferred.

Being an early-stage startup with a small team, breadth is extremely important and we expect this person to dive into structural analysis, dynamics, thermal design, supplier management, and everything else associated with the full lifecycle of an electromechanical product.

This position has significant lab and hands-on work and will be located at our office in Mountain View, CA.

Responsibilities

Have a deep understanding of Muon’s spacecraft platforms & capabilities. Tailor and develop components to these platforms to meet mission needs.

Own moving mechanism assemblies, including design and analysis, component sizing, subsystem assembly, performance characterization, and lifetime testing.

Own Design for Manufacturing/Assembly (DFM/DFA) efforts to support continuous improvement and volume production.

Create, analyze, and refine mechanism mechanical designs in SolidWorks.

Support control algorithm development and tuning, in collaboration with cross-functional teams.

Contribute to the continuous development of best practices, processes, tools, and methodologies to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in mechanisms development.

Write new documentation and build procedures unique to the mission. Lead mechanical portion of both internal and external design reviews.

Support subsystem-level environmental testing campaigns including environmental (vibration, thermal-vacuum (TVAC) testing) and system characterization.

Interface and collaborate with structural, thermal, instrument and spacecraft systems engineers, AI&T and production teams, and program managers.

Required Qualifications

8+ years of experience designing, building, and testing high reliability hardware

B.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks preferred) for component and assembly design

Mastery of drawings, GD&T, BOMs, FAIs, tolerance budgets, and mass budgets

Experience with ECO/DCO processes and PLM systems

Demonstrated proficiency leading mechanical design for complex electromechanical systems

Experience technically leading or managing a small team of engineers and/or technicians

Extensive documentation capabilities: build procedures, test plans, design trades, DOEs

Experience managing external vendors for part prototyping and development

Experience with root cause analysis efforts including data analysis and testing.

Excellent communication, presentation, and cross-functional coordination skills

Experience with system integration and delivery of complex hardware/software systems.

Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week.

Nice-to-have Skills

Flight heritage—hardware you designed that has successfully operated in space

Experience optimizing and maturing existing designs (not only clean-sheet development)

Familiarity with satellite payloads and mission-level mechanical integration

Experience with deployable hardware (solar arrays, antennas, mechanisms)

Experience with ADCS components: reaction wheels, torque rods, star trackers

Experience running structural analyses (FEMAP, ANSYS) & environmental testing

Experience with thermal management systems for spacecraft

Large assembly management in SolidWorks PDM; experience with PLM systems (Duro or similar)

Software skills in Python, MATLAB, or similar

Project management experience: customer reviews, Gantt charts, risk tracking

Experience qualifying external vendors and contract manufacturers

Experience with optomechanical subsystem for IR or microwave instrumentation

Experience working in cleanroom environments.

Salary

The salary range for this role is $183,000 - $198,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.