Hardware Development Engineer II

Posted Yesterday
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Long Beach, CA, USA
In-Office
104K-143K Annually
Junior
Aerospace • Hardware • Robotics • Software • Manufacturing
Building reusable rockets to empower science and exploration.
The Role
The Hardware Development Engineer is responsible for developing and manufacturing propulsion hardware, collaborating with design teams, and ensuring manufacturability and reliability of engine systems.
Summary Generated by Built In

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team: 

The Propulsion team at Relativity is focused on developing and delivering highly performant and manufacturable engines for Terran R. Engineers are responsible for the entire lifecycle of their parts, from initial design through production to qualification and flight. The team fosters a culture of bottoms-up decision-making, free from technical gatekeeping, where ownership and accountability are key at all levels. But designing engines with a quarter million pounds of thrust is just the beginning. As the flight configuration enters qualification, the team is now exploring modifications for future engines, including thrust upgrades, new cycles, and design for mass production.

About the Role:

Propulsion Hardware Development Engineers are responsible for taking the Aeon-R engine from paper designs to highly reliable, high-performance hardware. This role requires deep engagement with both the design and production teams to ensure our designs are readily manufacturable and our manufacturing processes are reliable and production-ready. You will also be responsible for developing new manufacturing processes to improve Aeon-R engines and the Terran-R vehicle. You should have strong engineering fundamentals as well as a knowledge of aerospace manufacturing techniques to be an effective Hardware Development Engineer. The role demands close interaction with propulsion hardware, including defining build procedures and hands-on build and integration of hardware. 

Responsibilities:

  • Develop manufacturing processes, new techniques, and tools to enable high rate productions and increase engine performance
  • Work hand-in-hand with the design and analysis teams to simplify our propulsion systems
  • Participate in design reviews and lead design for manufacturing (DFM) initiatives
  • Design test set-ups, coordinate and execute development, qualification, and acceptance testing of systems, and conduct data reviews
  • Participate in test failure investigations and implement corrective actions
  • Design, analyze, and procure tooling for piece part manufacturing and system testing
  • Create and maintain development build and test schedules

 About You:

  • Bachelor’s degree in a science, engineering, technology, or mathematics field
  • 2+ years of professional engineering experience
  • Direct experience applying engineering fundamentals in thermodynamics, structures, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer
  • Experience with CFD and FEA tools (ANSYS)

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.
Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:
$104,000$143,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [email protected].


Skills Required

  • Bachelor's degree in a science, engineering, technology, or mathematics field
  • 2+ years of professional engineering experience
  • Experience applying engineering fundamentals in thermodynamics, structures, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer
  • Experience with CFD and FEA tools (ANSYS)

Relativity Space Compensation & Benefits Highlights

  • Healthcare Strength The company offers comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, company-funded HSA contributions, mental-health resources, and access to One Medical and an EAP. Wellness supports like a stipend and gym discounts reinforce the breadth of care.
  • Parental & Family Support Generous parental leave is paired with a $10,000 family-building stipend for fertility and adoption, with mentions of a Carrot Fertility partnership. This combination indicates meaningful support across different family needs.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth The stated policy includes 15 PTO days per year with separate sick-time accruals, 11 company holidays, and 2 personal-choice holidays. This structure provides multiple avenues for planned and unplanned time away.

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The Company
HQ: Long Beach, CA
2,200 Employees
Year Founded: 2016

What We Do

Relativity Space is on a mission to better connect humanity to space and the universe beyond our planet. Our medium-to-heavy lift reusable rocket, Terran R, will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Why Work With Us

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up.

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Relativity Space Offices

OnSite Workspace

At Relativity Space, we are an office-first company. We believe our best work happens in person—where collaboration is faster, problem-solving is sharper, and ideas flow more freely.

Typical time on-site: None
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HQThe Wormhole
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Launch Complex 16
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NASA Stennis Space Center
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Kent, WA
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Washington, DC
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