Senior Staff Structural Analyst - Spacecraft Engineering
$192,979–$276,722 year
On-siteLouisville, Colorado, United States
Job Summary
Conduct detailed structural analyses for spacecraft, payloads, and ground support hardware using NASTRAN, HyperMesh, and Patran. Develop, correlate, and maintain high-fidelity finite element models for static, dynamic, thermal, and nonlinear analyses. Generate component-level dynamic environments, acoustic loads, and structural margins of safety per customer and industry standards. Provide analytical recommendations for engineering trade studies and partner with design engineers to improve structures for strength, stiffness, and manufacturability. Evaluate performance under launch, transportation, and operational environments, including vibration, shock, and fatigue assessments. Prepare certification documentation, support hardware qualification testing, and participate in design reviews. Collaborate with manufacturing and test teams to resolve structural issues and implement corrective actions.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related engineering discipline
- 5+ years of structural analysis experience supporting aerospace or spaceflight hardware
- Ability to make technically sound decisions under schedule constraints
- Self-motivated with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
- Attention to detail with a commitment to engineering excellence and flight safety
- Ability to communicate complex structural concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Strong understanding of mechanics of materials, structural dynamics, and aerospace structural design
- Knowledge of launch vehicle environments, coupled loads analysis, vibration, shock, and acoustic loading
- Experience analyzing metallic and composite structures, using both classical hand calculations as well as FEA and other computer aided methods
- Familiarity with aerospace materials, fastener design, joints, and bonded assemblies
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, and manufacturing processes
- Excellent technical communication and documentation skills
- Experience generating and correlating Craig-Bampton reduced-order models
- NASTRAN - developing and running finite element models
- Proficiency with pre/post-processing software including HyperMesh, Patran, FEMAP, or equivalent
- U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable
Desired Qualifications
- Experience supporting spacecraft, satellites, and launch vehicles
- Experience delivering structural dynamic models to launch providers, such as SpaceX
- Experience correlating analytical models with qualification and flight test data
- Experience with additively manufactured structures
- Knowledge of NASA, DoD, ESA, or commercial space structural verification requirements
- Solidworks 2024 for CAD
- Experience with analysis tools such as: ANSYS, Adams, NASGRO, ABAQUS, etc.
- Experience with optimization, scripting, or automation using Python, MATLAB, or similar languages
- Familiarity with PLM and configuration management systems such as ARAS
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