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Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer II to join the propulsion engineering team in Long Beach, CA. In this role, you will own system-level and component-level development of space systems propulsion and fluidic technologies that support civil, commercial, and defense customers.
Key responsibilities include:
- Own development of new or existing propulsion products/systems, acting as technical lead guiding end-to-end development
- Perform conceptual and detailed performance calculations, systems modeling, analysis, and design
- Gather, define, and manage technical requirements
- Lead systems engineering activities and provide technical leadership within the team
- Plan and execute comprehensive testing including instrumentation, data collection, and analysis
- Communicate with internal and external project stakeholders
- Make technical risk-based decisions to identify optimal engineering solutions
- Manage project schedules, prioritize work items, task engineers and technicians, and report status to leadership
- Mentor and coach team members on technical and professional development
- Establish and maintain excellence standards through documentation, training, and peer review
- Contribute to engineering process development and documentation
Required qualifications:
- 8+ years of propulsion system development experience or equivalent high-performance engineering field
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, mechatronics, or related engineering discipline
- Expertise in propulsion system modeling, static/transient analysis, and model validation using tools like Amesim, EcosimPro, Simulink, or Simscape
- End-to-end development experience including requirements, design, qualification, production, and acceptance testing
- Strong grasp of Systems Engineering V methodology and risk-based decision making
- Hands-on experience with electric propulsion systems
- U.S. citizenship (required for program compliance)
- Ability to obtain and maintain security clearance
Desirable qualifications include experience with Jama, Python for data analysis, NX CAD, GD&T, PLM software (Teamcenter/Windchill), National Instruments data acquisition, and thermal analysis tools.
