Relativity Space

Vehicle Structures Design Engineer II

Relativity Space$104K — $143K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 2+ years of design engineering experience
  • Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field
  • Proficiency in CAD software (NX, CATIA, Creo, or SOLIDWORKS)
  • Understanding of structural strength, stability, and fatigue failure
  • Familiarity with PLM systems, ideally NX/Teamcenter (nice to have)
  • Experience with GD&T and drafting (nice to have)

Responsibilities

  • Design and develop components from concept to initial release
  • Collaborate with manufacturing engineers on design for manufacturability
  • Conduct packaging assessments to resolve interferences
  • Manage BOM structuring and configuration across multiple systems
  • Create and release engineering drawings post-CDR review
  • Document work meticulously for team transparency
  • Facilitate decision-making by presenting recommendations effectively

Benefits

  • Competitive salary and equity
  • Generous PTO and sick leave policy
  • Parental leave support
  • Annual learning and development stipend
  • Transparent compensation practices
Full Job Description
About the Team:

The Structures and Mechanisms team is responsible for the full design, build, and test lifecycle of Terran R's integrated structures and flight mechanisms. Whether you're working on highly iterative mechanisms that move or tight-margin structures that shouldn't, you'll get hands-on hardware ownership and see the rocket coming to life on the factory floor. Both teams fall under one department, sharing design principles, tools, and an integrated approach that provides a comprehensive view of Terran R. Team members work on multiple parts, not just within a single subsystem, and are empowered to make decisions that directly impact flight hardware. Beyond first flight, you'll play a critical role in refining for manufacturability and speed.

About the Role:
  • The scope of work encompasses designing parts and systems from early conceptualization through full release and supporting manufacturing for primary and secondary structures related to all stages of the Terran R rocket. You will need to think creatively and leverage innovation to optimize part geometry, ensure assembly packaging, prevent interferences and excessive gapping, reduce mass, and make parts fully manufacturable. You'll also assist manage parts and assemblies throughout their lifecycles in PLM, and you'll control BOM structuring and configuration management for many systems across the vehicle. Your responsibilities will include, but not be limited to the following:
    • Design and develop piece parts, assemblies, and systems from early conceptualization up through full initial release - working with large machined metallic components, sheet metal, composites, formed panels, and more
    • Integrate critical design for manufacturing choices in direct coordination with the manufacturing engineering team
    • Perform packaging assessment of systems - resolve interferences, perform tolerance stack analyses, validate hardware stacks and fastener selections, integrate nominal gapping and shimming strategies, and more
    • Support BOM and configuration management of various systems across multiple vehicles
    • Create and release drawings as part of system release sprints post-CDR, including incorporating GD&T as primary definition In order to be successful in this role, you must be someone who is self-motivated, adaptable and is able to lead your own projects to completion in a fast-paced environment. Ideally, you have significant mechanical or structural design experience and a proven track record completing collaborative projects effectively. On a weekly basis, you will be designing flight components for our upcoming Terran R vehicle using NX/TeamCenter, creating and releasing drawings as well as supporting fabrication of your components. You will also use your strong organizational skills to properly document your work and present your recommendations when decisions are needed.
  • On a weekly basis, you will be designing flight components for our upcoming Terran R vehicle using NX/TeamCenter, creating and releasing drawings as well as supporting fabrication of your components. You will also use your strong organizational skills to properly document your work and present your recommendations when decisions are needed

About You:
  • 2+ years of experience in a design engineering role
  • Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related discipline
  • Experience with industry-standard CAD packages such as NX, CATIA, Creo, or SOLIDWORKS
  • Fundamental knowledge of structures strength, stability and fatigue failure mechanisms

Nice to haves but not required:
  • 1+ years of experience with NX/Teamcenter PLM
  • 1+ years of experience with GD&T and drafting


At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$104,000-$143,000 USD

About Relativity Space

Relativity Space is an American aerospace manufacturer that is developing 3D printed rockets. The company was founded in 2015 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone, and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Relativity Space's goal is to reduce the cost and time required to produce rockets by using 3D printing technology. The company's rockets are designed to be fully reusable, which could significantly reduce the cost of space launches. Relativity Space has received funding from a number of investors, including Mark Cuban and Playground Global.
Learn more about Relativity Space
Size
200 employees
Industry
Founded
2016

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