Mechanical Engineer II

Who We Are:

Eras of humanity can often be defined by a dominant transportation mode - horse-drawn chariots, ocean-going boats, or aircraft. These were spurred by a small group of people rigorously focused on building technology to achieve faster access to more of the world.  We seek to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth. To do this, we are building highly maneuverable re-entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth.

What You’ll Do:

As a Mechanical Engineer at Inversion, you will play a critical role in the design, functionality, and performance of our next-generation reentry vehicles. This is a unique opportunity to work on the early stages of vehicle design, including defining vehicle architecture and creatively solving new design challenges. You will be a key member of the Avionics Team, reporting directly to the Director of Engineering, Avionics. In this role, you will:

• Lead mechanical design efforts for the avionics team and partner with cross-domain stakeholders to design and deliver mechanical systems critical to avionics success.

• Design mechanical systems that interface directly with avionics subsystems and components for our next-generation reentry vehicle.

• Developed tooling and test equipment enabling critical functions, including environmental test, vehicle integration, and vehicle test.

• Qualify designs through environmental testing, including vibration, shock, load, and thermal testing.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.

• Typically 3+ years of applicable hands-on experience developing mechanical systems and mechanisms.

• Strong practical mechanical design skills related to mechanisms, packaging, high-load environments, and user interfaces.

• High familiarity with CAD software, such as Siemens NX.

• Familiarity with FEA software packages such as ANSYS Mechanical, NASTRAN, FEMAP, or similar, with an emphasis on modal and static structural analysis

• Experience producing engineering drawings and applying standard dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) per ASME Y14.5.

• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Capable of working in a dynamic, fast-paced startup environment.

• This position is on-site at Inversion HQ in Playa Vista, CA.

Desired Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.

• Hands-on vehicle integration experience of mechanisms, including avionics, harnessing, bracketry, and related components.

• Demonstrated history of mechanical design product ownership from cradle to grave.

• Experience with vehicle-level flight test campaigns and hardware/avionics qualification.

• Prior experience in the design and test of qualified space-flight hardware.

Our office headquarters are located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in-office presence.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $122,000 -$150,000 USD. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.