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Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer II to lead mechanical design and mechanism development for space robotics and precision systems at their Pasadena facility. This is a hands-on technical leadership role responsible for translating program, production, and test requirements into practical mechanical architectures and driving designs through analysis, review, procurement, assembly, integration, environmental testing, qualification, and flight delivery.
Key responsibilities include leading assigned mechanical and mechanism development efforts with full ownership of scope, requirements, schedules, technical risks, and verification plans. You will serve as the responsible engineer for complex components or subsystems, owning technical execution from concept through delivery. The role involves leading trade studies and technical decisions on mechanical architecture, packaging, interfaces, tolerance strategy, materials, fabrication approaches, and design risk mitigation.
You will design precision mechanisms and motion systems including actuators, gimbals, gear trains, harmonic drives, bearings, motors, rotary sensors, springs, launch locks, and kinematic interfaces for spaceflight applications. The position requires deep expertise in SolidWorks CAD, GD&T, tolerance stack-up analysis, finite element analysis, and first-principles calculations. You'll create and maintain comprehensive product definitions including 3D models, production drawings, bills of material, assembly documentation, and design analyses.
Collaboration is essential—you'll work closely with electrical, software, systems, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and test teams. Leadership responsibilities include mentoring less-experienced engineers, contributing to mechanical design standards and best practices, and driving design-for-manufacture improvements. You'll manage technical schedules, vendors, budgets, and risk-mitigation activities to meet program commitments, and support hardware assembly, integration, troubleshooting, environmental testing, and qualification activities.
Rocket Lab's Space Systems team has enabled over 1,700 missions for partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force, with work spanning interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing, and national security initiatives.
