Thruster CAD and Stress Analyst

Here at The Exploration Company, we are building innovative aerospace technologies that advance the future of space transportation.

The heart of a spacecraft lies in its propulsion system, and that's why we, at The Exploration Company, are dedicated to developing our own cutting-edge Propulsion Systems ensuring the highest level of efficiency and reliability in our space endeavours.

We want you as a talented CAD & Stress Analyst to help us in our mission by designing and structurally justifying the hardware that makes up our propulsion systems, with a particular focus on the Thrust Chamber Assembly(TCA). You will own parts from initial CAD layout through to final stress justification, working hand in hand with the manufacturing and test teams to bring flight hardware from concept to qualified design.

In your capacity as a CAD & Stress Analyst, you will be responsible for the on-time and on-cost design and structural justification of propulsion hardware, with the TCA as your primary scope.

Your role will be continuously evolving, but day-to-day responsibilities will include:

During the Design Phase:

• Design the thrust chamber & injector propulsion hardware in CAD, from concept layout through to detailed design.

• Perform stress analysis (hand calculations and FEA) on designed parts to substantiate margins of safety under mechanical, thermal and pressure loads.

• Select materials and define manufacturing processes in coordination with manufacturing engineering, accounting for structural, thermal and producibility constraints.

• Work closely with propulsion, thermal and fluidic system engineers to translate functional requirements into part-level design and load cases.

• Establish and maintain interface definitions, drawings and part datasets, ensuring configuration control and traceability.

• Conduct trade studies on design options (geometry, material, manufacturing route) and justify design decisions with analysis.

• Elaborate and maintain structural analysis reports supporting design reviews and qualification.

• Support the definition of test requirements needed to validate analytical models and structural assumptions.

• Produce and maintain technical documentation of design choices and trade-offs, to a high standard, capturing analysis methods and results as to serve as reference justification for the design.

During Manufacturing, Assembly and Test Phase:

• Support manufacturing and inspection of parts, resolving design or tolerance issues as they arise.

• Support root-cause investigations of any structural anomaly or test finding, correlating analysis with hardware behaviour.

• Update and correlate stress models and analyses based on test and inspection results.

• Support design iterations and upgrades based on test campaign outcomes.

• A minimum of a bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering or similar degrees.

• Over 1 year of related experience in CAD design and stress analysis of mechanical or structural hardware, ideally in a propulsion, aerospace or high-reliability environment.

• Strong CAD skills, able to take a part from concept to a fully detailed, manufacturable design.

• Solid grounding in structural/stress analysis, including hand calculations and FEA (e.g. Ansys, Abaqus, or equivalent).

• Familiarity with manufacturing processes (machining, additive manufacturing, welding/brazing) and their impact on design and structural performance.

• Nice to have: CFD experience, for thermal or flow-related analysis of propulsion hardware.

• Excellent collaboration skills for working effectively across departments.

• Fluency in English.

• Strong oral and written communication skills.

• Strong analysis and problem-solving skills.

• Strong organizing and prioritization of tasks.

• Positive and flexible attitude to get the job done.

• Ability to communicate at all levels of the business.

• Demonstrates behaviour consistent with The Exploration Company's core values of Mission, Vision, Integrity, Excellence and Teamwork.

• Space enthusiast, ready to change the European space industry.

Why you should join us!

What makes us special here at The Exploration Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is:  

• We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind 

• We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them  

• We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge?  

We'd love to hear from you if you wish to be a part of our journey. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly. 
 
The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.  

All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, which will be subject to the country, role, and project you applied for. By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree that any offer of employment may be conditional upon successful condition of this check. The Exploration Company partners with Zinc Work Limited located in the UK (Zinc), a third-party provider, to ensure this process as efficient and transparent as possible.
If applicable, you will receive an email from Zinc upon acceptance of your offer with a link to a secure portal where you can provide the required information to Zinc.