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Apex manufactures commercial satellite buses (spacecraft platforms) at scale, combining software, vertical integration, and hardware designed for manufacturing. These platforms enable earth observation, communications, and other critical space applications.
You will own mechanical design of propulsion modules that integrate onto Apex spacecraft. This includes designing module structures, mounting interfaces, and the installation of flow controllers, PPUs, thrusters, and other propulsion hardware. You'll design structures to meet vehicle-level requirements including launch loads, vibration, shock, and thermal environments while conforming to vehicle interface control documents (ICDs).
A key differentiator: the propulsion components you're integrating are designed and built in-house at Apex. You'll work directly with the thruster, cathode, flow controller, and PPU teams to optimize mechanical, thermal, and interface design so components and module are optimized together from the start.
You'll also partner closely with manufacturing throughout the design cycle, supporting first builds and incorporating production-floor feedback as the company scales. This role offers significant hands-on design ownership, taking hardware from concept through build, test, and production.
Key responsibilities include: owning mechanical designs for propulsion modules and structures; designing to meet structural and environmental requirements; defining mechanical, thermal, and structural interfaces between components and between module and spacecraft; performing structural analysis (hand calculations and FEA) to verify strength, stiffness, and margins; designing against mass, cost, and power budgets; designing for manufacturing and assembly; working directly with manufacturing teams during first builds and resolving design and integration issues; creating component and assembly drawings, tolerance stack-ups, fastening and torque specifications, and installation work instructions; supporting build, integration, and test of flight hardware; and contributing to continuous design improvements as production scales.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical, aerospace, or related engineering field
- 3+ years of relevant mechanical or aerospace engineering experience, with experience in structural design and hardware installation/integration
- Strong understanding of structural design and analysis, including load paths, strength and stiffness, fasteners and joints, tolerance stack-ups, hand calculations, and FEA
- Experience designing aerospace or other complex hardware to structural and environmental requirements (vibration, shock, thermal)
- Experience integrating discrete components (propulsion, avionics, fluidic, or other hardware) into structural assemblies
- Proficiency with CAD, engineering drawings, and GD&T, with experience taking designs through release, build, and test
- Experience working with manufacturing or production teams to transition designs into hardware and resolve build and integration issues
- Ability to make sound engineering trades across performance, mass, cost, manufacturability, and schedule
- Ability to communicate clearly and work cross-functionally across engineering, manufacturing, and production teams
- Must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual) as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.15)
NICE TO HAVE:
- Direct experience with spacecraft propulsion modules, feed systems, or propulsion component integration
- Experience designing spacecraft or aerospace hardware for serial or high-rate production, including design-for-manufacturing and design-for-assembly
- Familiarity with electric propulsion components (thrusters, flow controllers, PPUs, and their mechanical, thermal, fluidic, and electrical interfaces)
- Experience with propellant feed-system routing, fluidic components, and cleanliness/contamination control
- Experience collaborating with component design teams to optimize hardware and system-level integration
- Experience supporting environmental qualification testing (vibration, shock, TVAC)
- Experience supporting flight hardware through integration, qualification, launch, and/or on-orbit operations
