Mechanical Engineer II

About the role
Muon seeks a Mechanical Engineer II to design and build hardware for our spacecraft platforms. Working alongside the group's senior and staff engineers, you'll take real ownership of components and assemblies: designing them, releasing them, prototyping them, and proving them out in test.
This is a hands-on design role with a fast build-test-learn loop. You'll see your hardware go from CAD to flight, and you'll help carry designs from first prototypes through constellation-quantity production.
This position is hybrid and requires working on-site in our San Jose, CA office three days per week.
What you'll do

• Own the design of components and assemblies within a spacecraft subsystem, from concept through CAD, flight build, and test,
• Develop and document design options and trades, with guidance from senior engineers on approach.
• Present your designs at reviews and participate as a peer reviewer.
• Drive integration and test of your hardware, and troubleshoot issues through root cause during build, qualification, and mission operations.
• Partner with the dedicated structural and thermal groups on detailed analysis, and coordinate across adjacent disciplines to keep the vehicle integrated.
• Mentor engineers, raise the team's technical bar, and influence design standards and best practices beyond your immediate scope.

Required qualifications

• 5+ years of experience designing, building, and testing high-reliability hardware
• B.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
• Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks preferred) for medium-to-large assembly design.
• Working proficiency with engineering drawings and GD&T; familiarity with BOMs, FAIs, and tolerance/mass budgets.
• Experience with ECO/DCO processes and PLM systems
• Experience contributing to the design of electromechanical systems
• Extensive documentation capabilities: build procedures, test plans, design trades, DOEs
• Excellent communication, presentation, and cross-functional coordination skills

Nice-to-have skills

• Deep design experience in one or more of: spacecraft structures and mission integration; deployables and solar arrays; or precision mechanisms.
• Experience owning a subsystem across its full lifecycle, including flight heritage or on-orbit hardware.
• Fluency with first-order structural/thermal analysis and hand-offs to dedicated analysis teams.]
• Experience managing external vendors for part prototyping and development
• Experience leading design reviews and defining design standards or processes.
• Hands-on background in integration, test, and anomaly resolution of flight hardware.
• Familiarity with solar array or electrical/power-system design (not required at this level).
• Experience mentoring or technically leading a small team of engineers.

Salary
The salary range for this role is $153,000 - $172,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.
About Muon Space
Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.
Taking Care of Our Team
At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.
Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too. Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.
Muon is currently registered and able to hire in the following states:
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IA, ID, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA
ITAR/EAR Requirements
This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.