Senior Mechanical Engineer - Spacecraft Instrument Mechanisms

About the role

Muon seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer to serve as a hardware expert in the design of instrument mechanisms. You’ll own the mechanical direction of the instrument mechanical subsystems from requirements definition to installation on the launch vehicle.  This will include direct collaboration with Muon’s engineering and instrument teams to understand requirements, execute designs, deliver robust hardware, pulling in relevant stakeholders (such as structural, thermal, electrical, etc) at the appropriate times to deliver a satellite on-time. The ideal candidate is a self-motivated engineer with a versatile skill set who is comfortable working across many layers of technical depth from individual components through system level. Previous experience with scanners/rotating instrument systems, thermal vacuum and vibration testing, and collaborating with engineering teams to refine designs for manufacturing and assembly processes is preferred. 

Being an early-stage startup with a small team, breadth is extremely important and we expect this person to dive into structural analysis, dynamics, thermal design, supplier management, and everything else associated with the full lifecycle of an electromechanical product.

This position has significant lab and hands-on work and will be located at our office in Mountain View, CA.

Responsibilities

• Have a deep understanding of Muon’s spacecraft platforms & capabilities. Tailor and develop components to these platforms to meet mission needs.
• Own moving mechanism assemblies, including design and analysis, component sizing, subsystem assembly, performance characterization, and lifetime testing.
• Own Design for Manufacturing/Assembly (DFM/DFA) efforts to support continuous improvement and volume production.
• Create, analyze, and refine mechanism mechanical designs in SolidWorks.
• Support control algorithm development and tuning, in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Contribute to the continuous development of best practices, processes, tools, and methodologies to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in mechanisms development.
• Write new documentation and build procedures unique to the mission. Lead mechanical portion of both internal and external design reviews. 
• Support subsystem-level environmental testing campaigns including environmental (vibration, thermal-vacuum (TVAC) testing) and system characterization.
• Interface and collaborate with structural, thermal, instrument and spacecraft systems engineers, AI&T and production teams, and program managers.

Required Qualifications 

• 8+ years of experience designing, building, and testing high reliability hardware
• B.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks preferred) for component and assembly design
• Mastery of drawings, GD&T, BOMs, FAIs, tolerance budgets, and mass budgets
• Experience with ECO/DCO processes and PLM systems
• Demonstrated proficiency leading mechanical design for complex electromechanical systems
• Experience technically leading or managing a small team of engineers and/or technicians
• Extensive documentation capabilities: build procedures, test plans, design trades, DOEs
• Experience managing external vendors for part prototyping and development
• Experience with root cause analysis efforts including data analysis and testing.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and cross-functional coordination skills
• Experience with system integration and delivery of complex hardware/software systems.
• Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week.

Nice-to-have Skills

• Flight heritage—hardware you designed that has successfully operated in space
• Experience optimizing and maturing existing designs (not only clean-sheet development)
• Familiarity with satellite payloads and mission-level mechanical integration
• Experience with deployable hardware (solar arrays, antennas, mechanisms)
• Experience with ADCS components: reaction wheels, torque rods, star trackers
• Experience running structural analyses (FEMAP, ANSYS) & environmental testing
• Experience with thermal management systems for spacecraft
• Large assembly management in SolidWorks PDM; experience with PLM systems (Duro or similar)
• Software skills in Python, MATLAB, or similar
• Project management experience: customer reviews, Gantt charts, risk tracking
• Experience qualifying external vendors and contract manufacturers
• Experience with optomechanical subsystem for IR or microwave instrumentation
• Experience working in cleanroom environments.

Salary

The salary range for this role is $183,000 - $198,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process. 

About Muon Space

Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.

Taking Care of Our Team

At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.

Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too.  Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

ITAR/EAR Requirements

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.