Turbomachinery Mechanical Design Engineer

Orbital Operations

$110K — $130K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • B.S. degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering required.
  • 2+ years of turbomachinery design experience.
  • 5+ years of overall engineering experience.
  • Proficient in CAD software, preferably Siemens NX.
  • Proven track record in hardware design through all stages including fabrication and testing.
  • Strong understanding of mechanical design principles and standards.
  • Familiarity with materials and processes used in turbomachinery.

Responsibilities

  • Own turbomachinery hardware from requirements to flight qualification.
  • Develop detailed designs, drawings, and tolerances for hardware components.
  • Perform or coordinate necessary structural, thermal, and fluid analyses.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define interfaces for engine integration.
  • Set test objectives and criteria for component and assembly-level testing.
  • Support testing phases and data review as needed.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge cryogenic propulsion systems.
  • Hands-on role in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
  • Engagement with a diverse range of engineering disciplines.
  • Direct impact on the development of flight-ready turbomachinery components.
  • Potential for professional growth within a startup culture.
Full Job Description
About the Role

We are looking for a Turbomachinery Mechanical Design Engineer to help develop the high-performance pumps, turbines, and rotating assemblies that power our cryogenic propulsion system. You will work across the full hardware lifecycle from early architecture trades and detailed mechanical design through manufacturing, assembly, and testing. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role for an engineer who thrives in a fast-paced environment and wants to turn ambitious turbomachinery concepts into reliable, flight-ready hardware.
Responsibilities
  • Own turbomachinery hardware from initial requirements and architecture trades through detailed design, manufacturing, assembly, test, and flight qualification.
  • Develop detailed component designs, drawings, interface definitions, tolerance analyses, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) for rotating and stationary hardware.
  • Perform or coordinate structural, thermal, rotordynamic, fluid, and life analyses to validate designs across operating and transient conditions.
  • Work closely with propulsion, fluids, manufacturing, test, and avionics teams to define interfaces and ensure successful integration into the complete engine system.
  • Define component and assembly-level test objectives, instrumentation requirements, acceptance criteria, and data-review processes.
  • Support component and assembly testing and data review on an as-needed basis
Required Qualifications
  • Minimum of a B.S. degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering.
  • 2+ years' experience in turbomachinery design and development with 5+ years' experience in an engineering discipline.
  • 2+ years' experience working with CAD software, preferably Siemens NX
  • Comfortable working in fast-paced, startup environment.
  • Demonstrated experience taking complex mechanical hardware through design, fabrication, assembly, and test.
  • Strong understanding of mechanical design fundamentals, including fits and tolerances, bolted joints, fatigue, fracture, thermal growth, and high-speed rotating machinery.
  • Experience creating production-quality engineering drawings using GD&T in accordance with ASME Y14.5.
  • Working knowledge of metallic materials, coatings, heat treatments, and manufacturing processes used in turbomachinery.
Nice to Haves
  • Significant experience / technical expertise in one or more of the following areas:
  • Rotor dynamics; balancing fundamentals
  • Turbine stage aero-mechanical design
  • Hydrodynamic design of pumps/inducers/etc.
  • Turbomachinery detailed layout and design
  • Computational fluid dynamics
  • Experience in Turbomachinery related analysis software(s)

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