SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Systems Engineer II to join the propulsion engineering team in Long Beach, CA. This role offers system-level and component-level ownership of space systems propulsion and fluidic development, supporting civil, commercial, and defense customers.
Key responsibilities include owning development of new or existing propulsion products and systems while acting as a technical lead guiding teams through end-to-end development. You will perform conceptual and detailed performance calculations, systems modeling, analysis, and design. Requirements gathering, definition, and management are core to the role, along with systems engineering activities and leadership within the team.
You will lead test planning, setup, instrumentation, execution, and data analysis. Communication with internal and external project stakeholders is essential, as is technical risk-based decision making when facing engineering challenges. Project management duties include schedule building and maintenance, identifying priorities, tasking engineers and technicians, and communicating status to leadership.
Mentorship and coaching of team members on technical and professional development is expected. You will define and maintain standards of excellence through documentation, training, coaching, and review of others' work. Contributing to engineering process development and documentation at Rocket Lab related to your areas of expertise is also part of the role.
Required qualifications include a Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, mechatronics, or other technical engineering discipline, plus 8+ years of experience in propulsion system development or other high-performance fields. An active Secret clearance with TS/SCI eligibility is required, along with US citizenship due to program requirements.
You must have expertise in propulsion system modeling, static and transient analysis, and model validation using software such as Amesim, EcosimPro, Simulink, or Simscape. Experience with end-to-end development processes—from requirements gathering through production and acceptance testing—is essential. Demonstrated experience with the Systems Engineering V process and risk-based decision making is required. Experience working on propulsion systems utilizing different storable propellants, including electrical and chemical systems, is necessary.
Desirable qualifications include a genuine passion for engineering with a curious mindset and willingness to learn. Demonstrated hands-on engineering skills, comfort working with high levels of ambiguity, and the ability to make decisions using engineering principles, literature, standards, risk assessments, test data, and physics-based models are valued. Experience with Jama, Python for data manipulation and post-processing, and excellent communication skills are also beneficial.
