Staff Structures Engineer

About the Team: 

The Interplanetary Sciences Program was established to expand access to scientific exploration across our solar system. Its mission is to make planetary research faster, more affordable, and more capable than ever before by rethinking how science missions are designed, built, and operated. The program aims to enable scientists to send instruments to distant worlds without decades of development or prohibitive costs. By creating a sustainable model for interplanetary exploration, we are transforming space science from an occasional event into a continuous process of discovery that accelerates knowledge, broadens participation, and inspires the next generation of explorers.

About the Role:

As a Staff Structures Engineer within the Interplanetary Sciences Program at Relativity Space, you will own the design, development, analysis, build, and verification of primary and secondary spacecraft structures, from concept through flight. You will be directly responsible for delivering flight-ready hardware that meets mission performance, reliability, and cost objectives. 

This position requires a highly motivated, hands-on engineer who thrives in ambiguity, can execute with autonomy, and is eager to take on end-to-end ownership, from early architecture and trade studies to prototype testing to final flight qualification. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Lead the design, analysis, and development of spacecraft structures from concept through flight
• Perform structural and dynamic analysis (FEA, hand calcs, margins, etc.) to validate designs across all mission phases 
• Produce engineering drawings with required specifications for manufacturing 
• Collaborate with all subsystems to ensure structural integrity and system-level integration. 
• Manage fabrication and assembly of structural components, including supplier coordination, material procurement, and flight hardware acceptance testing
• Design and execute environmental testing, load testing, and flight verification campaigns 

About You:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field
• 6+ years of experience designing, analyzing, and delivering aerospace primary or secondary structures
• Demonstrated ability to take structural systems from blank-sheet concept through qualification and flight
• Proficiency in CAD and structural analysis tools  
• Hands-on experience with metallic structural design, GD&T, drawing creation, integration, and testing
• Strong communication skills and demonstrated success working cross-functionally in fast-paced environments

Nice to haves but not required:  

• Direct technical experience with interplanetary spacecraft design 
• Experience designing avionics enclosures 
• Familiarity with NASA or other spaceflight structural design and verification standards 
• Experience with spaceflight hardware environmental testing and qualification