Senior Mechanical Engineer (Rotary Actuators) Verified today

The Mission

Starpath develops and manufactures technologies that enable humans to live on the Moon and Mars. Starlight manufactures space solar power systems that will power new satellites and all Starpath equipment on the Moon and Mars.

The Role

As Senior Mechanical Engineer for rotary actuators, you will own the architecture, design, analysis, and qualification of mechanisms that deploy and orient Starlight's solar arrays. This includes solar array drive assemblies, deployment hinges, dampers, latches, and gimbals that must survive launch and operate reliably throughout the mission. You will serve as technical authority for spacecraft mechanisms, resolve complex design and integration challenges, and guide hardware from early trade studies through flight qualification and production.

Responsibilities

• Own rotary actuator and mechanism designs from architecture through detailed design, analysis, build, qualification, and flight
• Establish mechanism requirements and translate system-level needs into practical hardware architectures
• Lead technical trade studies covering performance, mass, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and schedule
• Select and integrate motors, gearheads, bearings, slip rings, brakes, dampers, and position sensors
• Size drivetrains for torque, speed, stiffness, backlash, pointing accuracy, jitter, duty cycle, and mission life
• Perform and review torque-margin, friction, structural, thermal, backlash, life, and tolerance analyses using hand calculations and FEA
• Develop lubrication, materials, surface-treatment, preload, and wear-control strategies for vacuum and thermal-cycling environments
• Define qualification and acceptance-test programs covering functional performance, life, vibration, shock, thermal vacuum, and torque margin
• Lead mechanism design reviews, failure investigations, risk-reduction efforts, and corrective actions
• Partner with electrical, controls, and avionics engineers on motor-drive electronics, feedback sensing, fault response, and closed-loop actuator control
• Work with manufacturing and suppliers to develop assembly, alignment, inspection, and production processes for precision rotating hardware
• Identify critical technical risks early and build focused development tests to resolve them
• Mentor engineers and establish sound mechanism-design and verification practices across the team
• Simplify designs, reduce part count, and eliminate complexity that does not improve performance or reliability

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related discipline
• 6+ years professional experience designing mechanisms, actuators, or precision mechanical systems
• Demonstrated ownership of complex mechanical hardware from concept through build and test
• Experience designing rotary mechanisms such as actuators, gearboxes, gimbals, hinges, deployment systems, or drive assemblies
• Strong understanding of motors, gear reductions, bearings, lubrication, friction, backlash, stiffness, and mechanism life
• Proficiency with 3D CAD and ability to produce detailed engineering drawings using GD&T
• Experience performing mechanical analysis using hand calculations and FEA
• Hands-on experience building, testing, troubleshooting, and improving mechanical hardware
• Ability to make sound technical decisions with incomplete information and communicate tradeoffs clearly

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related discipline
• Experience developing spacecraft mechanisms or other high-reliability flight hardware
• Experience selecting and integrating brushless DC motors, harmonic drives, planetary gearheads, precision bearings, and position sensors
• Expertise in space-rated tribology, including lubricant selection, bearing preload, wear, cold welding, and life testing under vacuum
• Experience with slip rings, twist capsules, or other rotary power and signal-transfer devices
• Working knowledge of motor-drive electronics, encoders, resolvers, and closed-loop position or velocity control
• Experience leading mechanism qualification campaigns and correlating test results with analytical predictions
• Familiarity with radiation, thermal, contamination, and charging considerations for spacecraft mechanisms
• Knowledge of aerospace mechanism standards and practices, including NASA-STD-5017 or applicable AIAA guidance
• Experience with solar array deployment systems, solar array drive assemblies, antenna-pointing mechanisms, or similar spacecraft hardware
• Experience transitioning precision mechanisms from prototype development into repeatable production

Employment Details

• Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA
• Employment Type: Full-time
• Department: Starlight Solar
• Travel: Occasional

Export Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, you must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.