Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Propulsion at Cowboy Space Corp. in Washington, DC

Job description

About Cowboy Space Corp: Mission Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity's most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth. Background Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport. Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases. Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father's work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others. This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation's team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you. About the Role: As a Senior Manufacturing Engineer, you will be responsible for establishing how the engine is made as we build a rocket engine factory from the ground up, making key decisions about how hardware gets made, equipment purchases, and process development, rather than inheriting any existing systems. Manufacturing Engineering is not a support function here. Our manufacturing engineers are accountable for delivering hardware. You will direct DFM for new and existing components, set the manufacturing direction for the parts you own, define how they get built and inspected, specify the tooling and the equipment, and own the result when hardware reaches the build cell. If a component is hard to make, that is a manufacturing engineering outcome. This role adapts to changing program needs and your strengths, rather than being limited to a single component. We seek candidates with broad experience across programs and processes who understand different manufacturing methods and why they are chosen. Responsibilities: • Define the manufacturing concept of operations (CONOPS) and the design-for-manufacturability (DFM) strategy for your hardware, covering production methods, equipment selection, and build sequence. • Bring a culture of creativity to every design and manufacturing challenge, ask the hard questions, own each fix or improvement with true accountability, and see it through to completion. • Support facility layout and planning. Identify, specify, and purchase capital equipment. Afterward, install, integrate, and qualify the equipment. • Design tooling and fixtures to support all processes from machining, welding, assembly, to handling and transport. • Lead the process qualification plan for your hardware in partnership with Materials & Processes and Quality teams. Manage supplier interactions for externally routed parts and processe