About the Role:
We are looking for a Lead Configurator / Integrator to own the physical architecture of our engines and vehicle subsystems. Reporting to the Head of Valves & Fluid Systems, you will be the person who turns a schematic into a buildable, serviceable, elegant three-dimensional reality-routing fluid conductors, packaging components into tight envelopes, designing mounting hardware, and ensuring every layout decision accounts for structural loads, thermal environments, assembly sequence, and the human who has to work on it next. You live at the intersection of sketches, CAD, physics, and AI-using every tool at your disposal to rapidly drive reality-based trade-offs into early design decisions. The ideal candidate brings an eye for elegance, a physics based intuition for load paths, fluid flow, and secondary structure, and a relentless focus on solutions that are as easy to build and maintain as they are to fly.
Responsibilities:- Own the configuration and packaging of engine assemblies and vehicle subsystems ensuring optimal tradeoffs between, mass, volumetric efficiency within constrained envelopes, cost, and system lead time.
- Design and route fluid conductors (tubing, flex lines, manifolds) and small-bore lines across engines and vehicle systems; define routing paths that minimize pressure drop, vibration exposure, and interference while respecting assembly and maintenance access.
- Design component mounting hardware, brackets, clamps, and secondary structure; size and substantiate these for flight loads (vibration, acoustic, shock, thermal) with appropriate hand methods and FEA.
- Drive layout decisions with explicit consideration for assembly sequence, technician access, tool clearance, refurbishment workflows, and inspection requirements-ensuring that what looks good on screen works on the shop floor.
- Conduct rapid design exploration using a combination of hand sketches, parametric CAD, generative design, and AI-assisted layout tools.
- Coordinate with propulsion, avionics, and mechanisms teams to resolve spatial conflicts, define interface control boundaries, and ensure subsystem layouts integrate cleanly into the vehicle architecture.
- Own the "single source of truth" master configuration models, envelope definitions, keep-out zones, and integration drawings
- Evaluate packaging alternatives with quantified trade criteria: mass, routing pressure drop, structural margin, assembly time, maintenance access, and failure-mode exposure, cost, and other supply chain considerations.
- Support integration and build activities: resolve fit-check issues in real time, disposition assembly issues, and iterate layouts for manufacturability.
- Mentor designers and junior engineers on best practices for configuration design, elegant routing, load-conscious bracketry, and design-for-serviceability principles.
Basic Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering field.
- 5+ years of experience in configuration design, systems integration, packaging, or layout engineering for complex mechanical/fluid assemblies-preferably in aerospace, or similarly constrained environments.
- High-level proficiency in 3D CAD (NX preferred) with demonstrated ability to build and manage large, multi-discipline assemblies and produce production-quality routing and installation definitions.
- Strong understanding of structural loads, secondary structure design, and bracket/clamp architectures and sizing-able to assess whether a mounting solution is structurally adequate without waiting for a full stress cycle.
- Hands-on experience with hardware integration: you have been on the floor during assembly, seen what works and what doesn't, and can design for the human hand and the real tool envelope.
Preferred Qualifications:- Experience configuring rocket engines or launch-vehicle systems: propellant routing, pneumatic lines, bleed/drain/vent lines, and engine-to-vehicle interfaces.
- Familiarity with AI-assisted design tools, generative design, topology optimization, or computational layout methods-and a willingness to push these tools further to accelerate configuration decisions.
- Working knowledge of tube fabrication constraints (bend radii, weld access, braze clearance, flex-hose routing rules) and how they drive routing geometry decisions.
- Experience with vibration and dynamic loads on secondary structure and fluid lines: natural frequency requirements, clamp spacing rules, and anti-vibration mounting techniques.
- Background in design-for-maintenance and human factors: ergonomic access analysis, maintenance task planning, or workflow driven layout optimization for serviceability and reuse.
- Demonstrated creative problem-solving ability: you naturally generate multiple configuration concepts, sketch rapidly, and converge on elegant solutions that others didn't see.
Compensation and BenefitsThe salary range for this position is
$160,000 - $225,000 annually.
The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.- Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
- Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Paid time off
- 10 paid holidays per calendar year
- Paid parental leave
- Relocation assistance if applicable
- Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks
ITAR Requirements- Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants 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 ITAR here.
DisclaimerThis job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.'s discretion.
Key Words For Search Results:- Lead Propulsion Engineer
- Engine Integration
- Integration Engineer
- Propulsion Integration Engineer
- Configuration Design
- Packaging Engineer
- Mechanical Integration
- Rocket Engine
- Fluid Routing / Tubing Design
- Launch Vehicle
- CAD (NX / CATIA / SolidWorks)
- Aerospace
- Design for Assembly
- Secondary Structure / Bracketry
- Engine Layout
- Systems Integration
- Component Packaging
- Interface Control
- Design for Maintenance
