Structures Engineer II (Spacecraft)

About the role

Firefly is looking for an experienced spacecraft structures engineer to develop our state-of-the-art primary and secondary structures throughout the product life cycle for both our Blue Ghost Lunar Lander and Elytra vehicles. You will be part of a highly skilled, dynamic team that will involve you in all aspects of analysis, design, fabrication, and testing. Excellent collaboration and communication skills, along with a positive attitude are critical.

Responsibilities

• Own and influence the entire hardware design cycle including conceptual design, structural layout, sizing analysis, hardware production, and structural testing.
• Design and develop composite and metallic structures for orbital and lander spacecraft.
• Optimize mass and production rate of existing designs and requalify designs.
• Support production teams with onsite review and verification, and provide timely closure of non‑conformance dispositions.
• Support configuration development and trade studies for future spacecraft missions.
• Maintain requirements compliance and verification, hardware delivery schedule, mass budgets, and inter‑system collaboration activities.
• Create CAD and manufacturing drawings, specifications, analysis reports, test plans, and test reports.
• Perform first‑order strength and sizing calculations, working alongside stress and dynamics analysts to document critical strength capabilities.

Qualifications

• B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, or civil engineering and 3+ years of experience in aerospace or related structures engineering (required).
• Strong design and integration skills using 3‑D CAD software (Siemens NX / FiberSim preferable).
• Strong understanding of ASME Y14.5 and drafting techniques for component and assembly specifications.
• Ability to work effectively in a multi‑discipline team and provide technical guidance and insight.
• Demonstrated experience with precision structural integration and manufacturing techniques.
• M.S. degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering and/or 5+ years of experience (desired).
• Working knowledge of composite manufacturing methods, material selection, testing, and characterization.
• Experience with industry FEA/FEM tools such as Nastran, ANSYS, FEMAP, Simcenter, etc.
• Experience with advanced honeycomb panel design and manufacturing techniques, including heat pipe integration and thermal control systems.
• Experience with vehicle‑level static and vibroacoustic testing.
• Familiarity with aerospace standard structural analysis methods (Bruhn, Niu, Roark, etc.).

Benefits

• Generous health, dental, and vision plans with low deductibles.
• Parental leave.
• Educational reimbursement.
• Short‑term disability.
• Flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including ITAR, you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, 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.