Senior Mechanical Engineer, Vehicle Fluids

About the Team: 

The Stage Fluids team is responsible for the design and delivery of propellant, pressurant, pneumatics, and other fluid systems that turn structures into functioning rockets! The team has full ownership across design, production, test, and flight, maintaining a holistic view of Terran R, focused not on isolated parts but integrated functionality. Working on-site at the factory means you’re never far from the hardware, enabling rapid iteration and tight feedback loops across design and manufacturing. You won’t just be handed requirements: you’ll be expected to ask the right questions, collaborate with partners across the company, and ultimately find the best solutions for Terran R.

About the Role:

In this role, you will be responsible for the hardware design and implementation of that hardware into vehicle fluid systems, ensuring a reliable and efficient operation of our Terran R launch vehicle. Your primary tasks will be focused on:

• Design and analysis of clean sheet of pressure components for launch vehicle fluid and propulsion systems
• Detailed fluid, thermal, and structural analysis of piece parts and assemblies
• Development and qualification test planning and execution of internally developed components
• Conducting trade studies to produce architectures and designs that satisfy system requirements

About You:

• Bachelor’s degree (Mechanical Engineering or relevant)
• 5+ years of experience working with fluids system component design
• Direct experience applying engineering fundamentals in thermodynamics, structures, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer
• Experience with CFD and FEA tools (ANSYS)
• Project experience with all the following: 
  • Experience with a commercial CAD package (NX, CREO, Solidworks)
  • Experience designing fluid system pressure components (fittings, seals, valves, regulators, etc.) and qualifying them for aerospace applications
  • Experience with FEA (ie. ANSYS, FEMAP) tools to analyze component structural margins

Nice to haves but not required:  

• Experience with internal flow CFD to assess component performance