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Salary: USD 185,000 - 277,000 / annual
Relativity Space is building rockets to serve today's needs and tomorrow's breakthroughs. The Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting growing demand for launch capacity. The propulsion team is responsible for successful development of engines powering Terran R, owning their design from concept through launch and reuse. The team partners heavily with manufacturing, test, launch, and integration teams to develop engines in record time and support Terran R's first launch in 2026.
As Principal Turbomachinery Engineer, you will help advance the state of the art of turbine design for space applications. You will collaborate closely with propulsion development and manufacturing teams to incorporate improvements into future designs. You should thrive in ambiguity and drive your own projects to completion, with passion and tenacity to work through challenging issues unique to rocket turbopumps. You will work at the interfaces of design, development, and analysis of turbomachinery, ideally bringing experience from a fast-paced aerospace environment where you've completed difficult projects while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary groups.
You will help build, test, and iterate on the full product lifecycle of Aeon-R engine systems, seeing them mature and eventually bring Terran R into space. This is an opportunity to solve problems that haven't been solved before and see your work come to life in record time. Autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level at Relativity—you're not just executing tasks but shaping decisions and defining the culture.
**Requirements:**
- Degree in engineering or related technical field and 15+ years of relevant experience
- Experience with turbine design, performing aerodynamic and structural analysis
- Experience with LCF (Low Cycle Fatigue) and HCF (High Cycle Fatigue) methodologies
- Experience with transient thermal/aerodynamic analysis
- Experience with forced response analysis
- Knowledge of industry standard turbomachinery design and analysis
- Strong communication skills
- Knowledge of turbopump assembly procedures, including rotor balancing, interference fits, clearance checks, structural proofing, and leak checks
**Nice to haves:**
- Experience with in-situ mode shape/blade deformation measurement
- Experience overseeing turbomachinery development and/or test campaigns
- Proficiency in Siemens NX and Teamcenter
- Experience in a startup or agile development environment
- Experience working in a flight development program
