As a Structural Dynamics Engineer your core responsibility will be to determine and validate loads and environments for full vehicles and component subsystems. You will work closely with a fast-paced, agile team that strives to make a high-performance spacecraft from a clean sheet design.

Department: Vehicle Engineering
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Redondo Beach
Workplace type: Onsite
Compensation: $120,000 - $180,000 / year
Reporting To: Seth Kovnat, Director of Vehicle Engineering

Responsibilities

Determine critical loads during launch, deployment, on-orbit operation, and ground handling
Generate and apply forcing functions for engine-borne dynamic excitation
Determine appropriate environments from vibration, acoustic, and shock sources
Develop and improve finite element models of primary structures and mechanisms
Develop and integrate Craig-Bampton reduced models for launch vehicle integration
Generate rigid-body deployment simulations and validate with deployment testing
Analyze and direct dynamic testing from pre-test analysis to post-test correlation
Effectively communicate results to Responsible Engineers and Designers and collaborate on improvements and solutions

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering
4+ years of demonstrated experience with structural dynamic analysis of high performance systems
Proficient with at least one industry standard structural FEA package (Femap/Patran/NASTRAN, ANSYS, Abaqus, etc.)
Demonstrated experience solving structural dynamic or vibration driven problems
Demonstrated experience with time and frequency domain analysis
Demonstrated proficiency with Matlab, Python or similar applications
Demonstrated proficiency with CAD software and the ability to learn new tools
Ability to communicate technical challenges, explain rationale and/or resolve concerns

Preferred Skills and Experience

A graduate degree (MS / PhD) in engineering or related field working with numerical methods
Hands-on experience with dynamic structural testing, including: random vibration, acoustics, sine vibration, sine burst, shock, and modal survey
Hands-on experience with sensor selection, test parameter selection, and data analysis
Working knowledge of launch vehicle loads
Demonstrated experience with acoustic vibration analysis software such as VA One
Demonstrated experience working on a launch vehicle or satellite development effort
Previous experience in a startup or agile development environment

Additional Information:

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

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. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of 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.

About Impulse Space

Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.

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