Senior Thermal Structures Engineer

Who We Are: 

Inversion builds advanced reentry systems to deliver next-generation capabilities from space. 

Our mission is to make Earth radically more accessible by turning Low-Earth Orbit into an on-demand logistics domain. We see space not as a destination, but as a platform — one that unlocks unprecedented speed and global reach. 

Our spacecraft are designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth in under an hour, operating through extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision. These systems open the door to new ways of testing, delivering, and operating at hypersonic speeds. 

Inherently dual-use, our technology is built to meet urgent national security needs while laying the groundwork for future commercial applications. Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working with partners such as the U.S. Space Force and NASA, Inversion is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space-based defense and logistics. 

What You'll Do: 

A heat shield is where the harsh reentry thermal environment meets structural reality — materials want to expand, attachments must not let them fail, and parts must be manufacturable at scale. As the Senior Thermal Structures Engineer, you will own the detailed design of heat shield and hot structure hardware from concept through flight, with responsibility for both the design and analysis of a key subsystem for a maneuverable reentry vehicle.  In this role, you will: 

• Own the detailed mechanical design of heat shield components and assemblies, including TPS panels, hot substructure, attachments, and interfaces to the vehicle 

• Perform structural and thermal-structural analysis of your designs, from hand calculations through detailed finite element analysis 

• Design for environments where thermally induced strains are a primary driver, managing CTE mismatch, thermal gradients, and constrained expansion across joints and interfaces 

• Work with materials and manufacturing engineers to design components that can actually be fabricated, machined, and inspected in high-temperature composite material systems 

• Define and support structural and thermal-structural testing to verify your designs, from element-level tests through qualification 

• Develop your own part and assembly models, drawings, and GD&T, carrying designs from concept through released engineering 
   

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent experience in a related field 

• Typically, 5+ years of experience in the mechanical or structural design of aerospace hardware 

• Experience performing structural analysis of your own designs, including both classical hand analysis and finite element analysis (e.g., Nastran, Abaqus, Ansys) 

• Experience with thermal-structural analysis, including thermally induced stress and deflection 

• Strong fundamentals in strength of materials, structural mechanics, and the design of fastened and bonded joints 

• Proficiency with 3D CAD sufficient to own detailed part and assembly design end-to-end, including drawings and GD&T 

• Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, including prototyping and rapid iteration of new products 

• This position is on-site at Inversion HQ in Playa Vista, CA. 

• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret/Top Secret security clearance. 

Desired Qualifications: 

• Experience designing high-temperature structures where thermally induced strains are a major design driver (hypersonic airframes , turbine engine hot sections, exhaust structures) 

• Experience designing high-density TPS components from reinforced carbon/carbon, carbon phenolic, or ceramic matrix composites 

• Experience designing hot-structure attachment schemes, such as expansion or slip joints, standoffs, flexures, and compliant interfaces 

• Experience analyzing anisotropic and composite materials, including appropriate failure criteria 

• Familiarity with the manufacturing constraints of composite or ablative materials, including machining, densification shrinkage, and inspection 

• Experience designing or supporting thermal-structural test campaigns, including strain and deflection measurement at elevated temperature 

• Prior experience working in startups and/or small independent teams 

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in-office presence. 

_{The California annual base salary for this role is currently $137,000-$193,000.  Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.}