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Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Systems 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 spacecraft propulsion and fluidic systems supporting civil, commercial, and defense space missions.
Key responsibilities include:
- Owning development of new or existing propulsion products and systems, serving as technical lead guiding teams through end-to-end development
- Performing conceptual and detailed performance calculations, systems modeling, analysis, and design
- Gathering, defining, and managing technical requirements
- Leading systems engineering activities and providing technical leadership within the team
- Planning and executing comprehensive testing, including instrumentation, data collection, and analysis
- Communicating with internal and external stakeholders to align on technical direction
- Making technical risk-based decisions to identify optimal engineering solutions
- Managing project schedules, prioritizing work, tasking engineers and technicians, and reporting status to leadership
- Mentoring and coaching team members on technical and professional development
- Establishing and maintaining engineering excellence through documentation, training, and peer review
- Contributing to Rocket Lab's engineering processes and documentation
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, mechatronics, or related engineering discipline
- 8+ years of experience in propulsion system development or comparable high-performance engineering field
- US citizenship (required for program compliance)
- Expertise in propulsion system modeling, static and transient analysis, and model validation using tools like Amesim, EcosimPro, Simulink, or Simscape
- Experience with complete development lifecycle: requirements, detailed design, qualification, production, and acceptance testing
- Proficiency in Systems Engineering V methodology and risk-based decision making
- Experience with multiple propellant types including electrical and chemical propulsion systems
Desirable qualifications include hands-on engineering skills, comfort with ambiguity, ability to use engineering principles and test data for decision-making, experience with Jama requirements management, Python for data analysis, and NX CAD software.
