Propulsion Engineer, Structures (Mid) at Apex in Los Angeles, CA

Job description

Spacecraft represent the most pressing unmet need across the entire aerospace industry. As more launch vehicles come online and the cost to orbit decreases, more companies launching payloads to space continue to emerge. For the first time in history, this influx of payload companies combined with reduced launch costs has resulted in a massive increase in need for commercial spacecraft platforms, known as satellite buses. These buses hold the payloads of our customers and are flown on launch vehicles. Apex manufactures these satellite buses at scale using a combination of software, vertical integration, and hardware that is designed for manufacturing. Our spacecraft enable the future of society: ranging from earth observation to communications and more. We’d love for you to join us on our mission of providing humankind access to the galaxy beyond our planet. About the Role Apex is seeking a Propulsion Engineer with experience in structures and hardware integration to design the propulsion modules that bolt onto Apex spacecraft at scale. You will own mechanical designs across the module, including the structure, mounting and installation of flow controllers, PPUs, and thrusters, and the packaging that turns a set of components into a single, buildable, flight-ready assembly. What makes this role distinctive is that the propulsion components you're integrating are designed and built in-house at Apex. You'll work directly with the engineers who own our thrusters, cathodes, flow controllers, and PPUs, helping shape their mechanical, thermal, and interface design so the components and module are optimized together from the start. You'll also work closely with our manufacturing team throughout the design cycle, supporting first builds and incorporating feedback from the production floor as we scale. This role offers significant hands-on design ownership and the opportunity to take hardware from concept through build, test, and production. Responsibilities: • Own mechanical designs for propulsion modules, including module structures, mounting interfaces, and the installation of flow controllers, PPUs, thrusters, and other propulsion hardware. • Design module structures to meet vehicle-level structural and environmental requirements, including launch loads, vibration, shock, and thermal environments, while conforming to vehicle ICDs. • Define mechanical, thermal, and structural interfaces between propulsion components and the module, and between the module and spacecraft. • Partner with Apex's in-house thruster, cathode, flow controller, and PPU teams to optimize component mounting, packaging, and interfaces. • Perform structural analysis, including hand calculations and FEA, to verify strength, stiffness, and margins. • Design against mass, cost, and power budgets and support engineering trades across competing requirements. • Design for manufacturing and assembly to ensure modules are buildable, repeatable, and installable at rate. • Work directly with manufacturing and production teams during first builds and resolve design and integration issues on the floor. • Incorporate manufacturing feedback into design iterations to improve producibility, yield, and build time. • Create and own component and assembly drawings, tolerance stack-ups, fastening and torque specifications, and installation work instructions. • Support the build, integration, and test of flight hardware and contribute to anomaly resolution and root-cause investigations. • Contribute to continuous design improvements across module generations as production scales. Qualifications: • Bachelor's degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering field. • 3+ years of relevant mechanical or aerospace engineering experience, with experience in structural design and hardware installation/integration. • Strong understanding of structural design and analysis, including load paths, strength and stiffness, fasteners and joints, tolerance stack-ups, hand calculations, and