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Salary: USD 109,725 - 193,620 / annual
STOKE Space Technologies is building Nova, a fully reusable launch vehicle designed for daily flight to radically lower space launch costs and increase flight cadence. The company is creating a scalable space economy through improved reliability, availability, and affordability.
You will own the payload fairing jettison system end-to-end on Nova. This is a critical, high-ownership role spanning requirements definition, analysis, design, qualification, flight operations, and hardware reuse. Your responsibilities include:
• Develop and execute jettison dynamics and clearance analyses (including dispersions) to demonstrate margin for each mission; derive system requirements and loads; correlate analysis to test data
• Design, analyze, procure, qualify, and integrate pneumatics, actuators, and mechanisms
• Create CAD models and manufacturing drawings with proper GD&T
• Work directly with machinists, technicians, and suppliers to build and test hardware on schedule and budget
• Plan and execute integrated jettison tests from development through qualification
• Troubleshoot failures, disposition non-conformances, and drive root cause corrective action
• Lead design reviews and communicate technical decisions clearly
• Run trade studies on separation and deployment architectures for next-generation reusable fairing, payload adapters, and dispensers
• Manage vehicle integration, flight operations, refurbishment, and hardware reuse
You will carry the current system to flight and help define the next generation of separation and deployment systems for the reusable fairing.
REQUIREMENTS (Minimum):
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field
• 5+ years of hands-on engineering experience designing, building, and testing hardware
• Exceptional command of mechanical engineering fundamentals (statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, heat transfer, fluid mechanics)
• Experience designing, analyzing, and testing pneumatics, actuators, or mechanisms
• Proficiency with 3D CAD and creating detailed manufacturing drawings
• Working knowledge of GD&T per ASME Y14.5
• Experience with structural analysis (hand calculations and FEA)
• Hands-on test experience: test plans, instrumentation, running tests, correlating data to analysis
• Proven ability to take ownership, work independently, and deliver results
• Strong communication skills; ability to explain complex problems simply
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Experience with multibody dynamics analysis (Adams, Simscape Multibody, LS-Dyna, or similar) and Monte Carlo dispersion analysis
• Familiarity with design and qualification to NASA-STD-5017 and AIAA S-114
• Experience with launch vehicle separation systems (fairing jettison, stage separation, payload separation)
• Experience with NX, ANSYS, and Femap or similar tools
• Experience designing for launch vehicle environments (vibration, shock, vacuum, thermal cycle)
• Experience with reusable hardware: inspection, refurbishment, life tracking
• Exposure to separation electrical systems, separating connectors, harness routing
• Experience in fast-paced startup or rapid development environments
• Track record of shipping hardware from first principles through flight
