Mechanical Engineer II

Reposted One Month Ago
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Vista, CA, USA
In-Office
106K-150K Annually
Mid level
Aerospace
The Role
The Mechanical Engineer II will design reentry vehicles, manage mechanical design processes, collaborate with teams, and ensure component performance through testing.
Summary Generated by Built In

Advanced Reentry Technologies

Who We Are:

Inversion is an aerospace and defense company pioneering advanced reentry technology to enable next-generation capabilities from space. By combining high-performance materials, precision aerodynamics, and mission-driven autonomy, Inversion is transforming reentry into an operational capability for an entirely new class of missions.

The company’s highly maneuverable reentry spacecraft, Arc, is designed for rapid global cargo delivery, hypersonic testing, and other national security missions that require precise, controlled flight through the atmosphere. Arc creates an entirely new transportation domain, unlocking unprecedented speed and global reach.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Inversion designs, manufactures, and integrates its spacecraft under one roof, enabling the company to move rapidly from concept to flight. The company is backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, with customers across the U.S. government and commercial space industry.

Position Overview:

As a Mechanical Engineer II 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.

  • Own mechanical design efforts from cradle to grave for the reentry team including:
    • Primary and secondary vehicle structures
    • Payload accommodations
    • Thermal protection systems interfaces
  • Partner with cross-domain stakeholders including propulsion and avionics to design and deliver mechanical systems critical to the vehicle's success.
  • Size, package, and integrate flight components and subassemblies in the vehicle using CAD software
  • Analyze flight and critical non-flight components using finite element analysis and hand calculations 
  • Develop test plans and equipment to qualify designs through environmental testing including vibration, shock, static load, and thermal testing.

Required Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
  • Typically 2+ years of applicable hands-on experience developing mechanical systems, structures, and aerospace vehicles or equivalently complicated mechanical assemblies.
  • 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.
  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret/Top Secret security clearance.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
  • Hands-on vehicle integration or design for manufacturing experience of flight or vehicle structures, bracketry, and related components.
  • Demonstrated history of mechanical design product ownership from cradle to grave.
  • Experience with vehicle-level flight test campaigns and hardware qualification per SMC-S016, SpaceX Rideshare Payload Users Guide (RPUG), or similar requirements
  • 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 $106,000-$150,000. 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. 

ITAR Compliance:
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.  
 
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.  
 
Inversion collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.  If you are a US Job Applicant see the CCPA Privacy Policy Notice for further details.

Skills Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
  • 2+ years of hands-on experience in mechanical systems or aerospace vehicles
  • Strong mechanical design skills related to mechanisms and high-load environments
  • High familiarity with CAD software such as Siemens NX
  • Familiarity with FEA software packages such as ANSYS Mechanical
  • Experience producing engineering drawings and applying GD&T
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Ability to work in a dynamic startup environment

Inversion Space Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Inversion Space and has not been reviewed or approved by Inversion Space.

  • Parental & Family Support — Public company profiles highlight generous parental leave, indicating a formal policy for new parents. Benefit listings specifically call out parental leave as part of the offering.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth — Unlimited PTO is described along with flexible hours, suggesting broad latitude to take time away when needed. Roles are largely on-site due to hardware work, but day-to-day scheduling flexibility is still referenced.
  • Fair & Transparent Compensation — Job postings consistently disclose base-pay ranges for many roles, providing upfront visibility into expected compensation. Listings show banded ranges aligned to seniority levels, aiding calibration for candidates.

Inversion Space Insights

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The Company
HQ: Torrance, CA
21 Employees
Year Founded: 2021

What We Do

Inversion is developing low-cost, high cadence re-entry vehicles. Returning cargo & resources will be essential for humanity to continue to grow within low-earth orbit and beyond. We believe in a future where returning from space is as common as launching to space. Join us: https://boards.greenhouse.io/inversionspace

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