Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer

About the role

Agile Space Industries is seeking a highly experienced Mechanical Engineer in beautiful Durango, CO. The Mechanical Engineer will drive the architectural design and innovation of rocket engine components specifically for hypergolic propulsion systems.

Responsibilities

• Drive the design and development of complex in-space propulsion system components and piece parts, ensuring deep system-level understanding and integration across components and system elements.
• Design and develop components and assemblies for chemical rocket systems, including concept creation, hand calculation verification, CAD assembly design and management, BOM creation, drawing production, and collaboration with manufacturing and testing teams.
• Translate long-term technical strategies into actionable engineering requirements for significant features and projects.
• Take highly ambiguous propulsion challenges and distill them into pragmatic, high-quality mechanical solutions for the engineering team.
• Act as an advisor to engineering leadership, guiding high-stakes technical decisions and shaping the company’s engineering vision.
• Cultivate a world-class engineering culture of technical excellence and collaboration, mentoring all experience levels of engineering and cross-functional teams.
• Lead hardware through the entire "cradle-to-grave" process—from conceptual hand calcs and CAD assembly to vendor selection, assembly, and test execution and analysis.
• Identify and implement risk mitigation strategies throughout development activities.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration between external customers, internal teams, subcontractors, and cross-functional groups.

Requirements

• B.S. or advanced degree in related engineering or technical field
• 15+ Years of experience with mechanical systems development, demonstrating strategic and technical impact.
• Profound expertise in mechanical design, specifically for high-pressure/high-temperature environments (valves, injectors, combustion chambers, pressure vessels, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience in delivering rocket engine hardware architectural solutions and setting company-wide technical execution methods.
• GD&T trained (certificate up to professional certification).
• Expertise in CAD modeling, including components, assemblies, and drawings, in accordance with ASME Y14.100 standards.
• Expertise in mechanical fastening designing including bolted joints and welding.
• Expertise in engineering in space flight environmental requirements including vibration, shock, and thermal extremes.
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively within team settings.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and collaborate with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Candidate must be a US citizen or permanent resident.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with FEA of mechanical components and sub-assemblies (ANSYS preferred).
• Experience with machining and manufacturing processes for mechanical components.
• Experience in fluid sealing design and manufacturing
• Experience in design for Laser Powder Bed Fusion additive manufacturing.
• Experience developing FMECA analyses.
• Experience testing mechanical systems for space flight environments.
• Experience with requirements management tools.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer

Employment Type

Exempt

Schedule

Full Time

Location

Onsite in Durango, CO