Propulsion Design Engineer

Summary about this job

Detail information about job Propulsion Design Engineer. Terms and conditions vacancy

Rocket Lab is seeking an experienced and skilled Propulsion Design Engineer to work within Rocket Lab’s Propulsion Team to develop and improve the performance and production of propulsion components and assemblies used in the Electron Launch Vehicle. Rocket Lab is seeking an experienced and skilled Propulsion Design Engineer to work within Rocket Lab’s Propulsion Team to develop and improve the performance and production of propulsion components and assemblies used in the Electron Launch Vehicle. 

As Propulsion Design Engineer you will work closely with the R&D team in Auckland (including design, analysis, manufacturing and testing) and from time to time you will also be involved in activities undertaken within Rocket Production Facility in Huntington Beach, USA. 

Key tasks will range from troubleshooting of detailed component defects for design improvement up to developing new designs for the Electron launch vehicle. You will work closely with test engineers and production engineers to ensure your designs can be tested to check performance, and that they can be produced for flight.

Propulsion Design Engineer’s key duties:

• Develop design requirements and conceptual designs
• Perform preliminary analysis (structural and thermal)
• Responsible for creating and running design, test and production reviews on your designs
• Responsible for design records and documentation
• Identify work and support Analysis Team reviews
• Support the test and manufacturing teams in qualification testing and production of new designs
• Create detailed engineering drawings for production
• Peer review colleagues engineering designs and drawings
• Achieve “design freeze” target dates that fit into company schedules
• Ensure that your designs pass design qualification criteria and work with the testing team to achieve this
• Proactively identify opportunities for improvements or cost/efficiency reductions
• Re-actively troubleshoot and resolve performance, quality, cost and delivery issues
• Work with technicians and other engineers performing production to create simple and easy to interpret processes

Skills & Experience required for the role of Propulsion Design Engineer

• An engineering degree in Mechanical, Aerospace or an equivalent qualification
• 5+ years design engineering experience within industry
• Strong experience working Solidworks or equivalent CAD program
• Document management system experience
• Excellent knowledge of physics and engineering materials
• Excellent knowledge of manufacturing processes
• Able to take a concept into production• Metal additive manufacturing experience
• Proven communication skills and the ability to build strong working relationships both within the organisation and externally
• The ability to be un-phased by change

About Rocket Lab USA

Rocket Lab’s mission is to revolutionize the way we access space. We develop and launch advanced rockets to put small payloads into orbit more frequently, at a fraction of the cost of cumbersome traditional launch services. We are ushering in a new era of unprecedented access to space.

Small satellites have a crucial role to play in improving understanding of our planet and humanity’s impact on it. Rocket Lab’s lightweight carbon composite Electron launch vehicle is designed to give these satellites dedicated launches and flexible orbit options. From real-time earth imaging and improved natural disaster prediction, to crop management and global internet, improved access to space enables us to take informed, deliberate steps in the management of our planet.

On May 25 2017, Electron made history as the first orbital-class launch vehicle to reach space from a private launch facility. It marked a significant milestone in eliminating commercial barriers and opening space for business. Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck, Rocket Lab is headquartered in Los Angeles with operations and a launch site in New Zealand. It is a privately funded company with investors including Khosla Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Lockheed Martin, Promus Ventures and Data Collective.

Important Information
For security reasons background checks will be undertaken prior to any employment offers being made to an applicant.  These checks will include nationality checks as it is a requirement of this position that you be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations.  Under these Regulations, you may be ineligible for this role if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union or a country that is part of NATO, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality.  For more information on these Regulations, click here http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/regulations_laws/itar.html.