The Role
Perform spacecraft-level structural analysis and testing, ensure fastener and component stress margins, apply force-limiting methodology, correlate FEA models to vibration test data, support mechanical trade studies, vendor selection, layouts, interface design, drawings, assembly and test, and review supplier and payload mechanical analysis. Provide or learn satellite thermal analysis as needed.
Summary Generated by Built In
Wanna join the adventure?
The Mechanical & Dynamics Engineer will be the in-house expert for all Orbitworks structural analysis and testing. This will predominantly be spacecraft-level analysis to ensure fastener and component stress margins of primary structures are compliant with our launch environment. They will also work on identifying any justified notch requests through force-limited methodology. The ability to correlate models to test is essential.
They will also act as a more general Mechanical Engineer, predominantly at satellite level. Beyond structural analysis, this role extends to mechanical trade studies, vendor selection, mechanical layouts, interface design, drawings, and assembly & test.
They will also be responsible for reviewing mechanical analysis/test results from suppliers and customer Payloads.
Ideally, the successful candidate will also have a strong understanding of the fundamentals of satellite thermal design. They will be capable, through training if necessary, of performing thermal analysis of our satellites to confirm temperatures remain within acceptable limits.
Must Haves:
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field. Master’s degree preferred.
- A minimum of 5 years of experience performing structural analysis in the space industry.
- Understanding of force-limiting techniques.
- Pragmatic vibration testing experience (provision of pre-test inputs, test oversight, data reduction).
- FEA experience at Spacecraft level. Expert-level knowledge of at least one solver and pre-/post-processor package and cursory knowledge of others (Femap, Patran, Nastran, ANSYS, etc).
- Experience correlating FEA models to vibration test outputs.
- Can concisely document analysis and test findings in report format.
- Possess strong communication and organizational skills.
- System-level thinking and approach to problem-solving.
Nice To Haves:
- Ability to perform Craig Bampton (CB) model reduction for launch authorities.
- Proficient with CAD tools (Solidworks or similar).
- Experience designing satellites or other space H/W.
- Thermal design and/or analysis experience. Use of ESATAN or Systema-Thermica would be an advantage.
- Proven experience in optical payloads integration, or other use-cases where alignment and tolerances are design drivers.
Orbitworks' mission is to make space simple for organizations that want to deploy physical and virtual missions to space. Building on Loft Orbital's heritage, Orbitworks will be the first commercial firm in the United Arab Emirates to mass-manufacture satellites. Orbitworks aims to manufacture tens of satellites annually and operates out of a 50,000-square-foot facility in Abu Dhabi.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field
- Master's degree (preferred)
- Minimum 5 years of experience performing structural analysis in the space industry
- Understanding of force-limiting techniques
- Pragmatic vibration testing experience (pre-test inputs, test oversight, data reduction)
- FEA experience at spacecraft level; expert-level knowledge of at least one solver and pre/post-processor (e.g., Femap, Patran, Nastran, ANSYS)
- Experience correlating FEA models to vibration test outputs
- Ability to concisely document analysis and test findings in report format
- Strong communication and organizational skills
- System-level thinking and approach to problem-solving
- Ability to perform Craig Bampton (CB) model reduction
- Proficient with CAD tools (SolidWorks or similar)
- Experience designing satellites or other space hardware
- Thermal design and/or analysis experience; use of ESATAN or Systema-Thermica advantageous
- Proven experience in optical payloads integration or alignment-driven design use-cases
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The Company
What We Do
Space Made Simple. We are a true end-to-end service provider letting our customers rapidly deploy and operate their payloads on reliable high-performance satellites at an unprecedented simplicity and affordability.
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