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K2 Space is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, backed by over $1 billion in funding from top-tier investors including Altimeter Capital, ICONIQ, Kleiner Perkins, and others. With over $1 billion in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers, the company is mass-producing advanced satellite platforms for missions from low Earth orbit to deep space.
As Principal Dynamics Engineer, you will lead the dynamics team in deriving loads and environments for K2 satellites across ground transportation, launch, deployment, and on-orbit operation. You will own the full lifecycle of dynamic testing at component, subsystem, vehicle, and stack levels, including test planning, analysis, and model correlation. Your responsibilities include developing time- and frequency-domain physics models using finite element analysis (Nastran) and custom Python tools, establishing simulation workflows, and setting technical direction for shared analysis tooling with proper version control and CI/CD practices.
Key responsibilities: drive dynamic testing execution and innovation in cross-disciplinary analysis methodologies; develop and evolve spacecraft dynamics approaches to optimize for business needs; create software tools for data processing and simulation frameworks; collaborate with design engineers and external customers; lead code reviews for simulation tools; mentor junior and mid-level dynamics engineers; derive loads, environments, vibration, shock, and jitter criteria using NASA standards; own coupled loads analysis for vehicle programs including Craig-Bampton model builds; lead jitter and pointing performance analysis with Monte Carlo modeling; direct vibroacoustic analysis and acoustic testing; and establish modal test and analysis methodologies with ground and flight test correlation.
Required: Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, physics, or mathematics; 8+ years of dynamics experience in industry or academia. Preferred: Master's degree; strong understanding of low/high frequency dynamics; deep testing and measurement experience; FEA software expertise (FEMAP, Nastran); Python proficiency; digital signal processing and structural mechanics knowledge.
