Staff Vehicle Fluid Systems Engineer (Product)

About the Team: 

The Stage Fluids team designs and delivers the propellant, pressurant, pneumatics, and other fluid systems that turn structures into functioning rockets. The team has full ownership across design, production, test, and flight, maintaining a holistic view of Terran R, focused not on isolated parts but integrated functionality. Working on-site at the factory means you’re never far from the hardware, enabling rapid iteration and tight feedback loops across design and manufacturing. You won’t just be handed requirements: you’ll be expected to ask the right questions, collaborate with partners across the company, and ultimately find the best solutions for Terran R.

About the Role:

As a Vehicle Fluids Product Responsible Engineer, you will be responsible for the fluid system architecture and function for a given vehicle product line. You will apply deep expertise in system architecture, complex systems operations, and fluid thermodynamics applications to guide hardware design, system analysis, manufacturing, validation and operations.

You Will:

• Own the integrated stage-level fluid architecture and schematics, ensuring seamless functionality across all propellant, pressurant, and pneumatic subsystems
• Lead cross-functional interface definitions and negotiations with partner vehicle teams (Propulsion/Engine, Structures, GNC, and Avionics) to ensure flawless system integration
• Assist with sizing and fluid 1D steady-state thermofluids analysis at both the system and component levels when necessary to
• Define development, qualification, and acceptance testing scopes to buy down technical risk prior to vehicle-level integrated testing
• Participate in concept of Operations (CONOPS) development and operation data review to take ultimate ownership of the successful operational philosophy and testing execution of the fluid systems at the integrated vehicle level

About You:

• Bachelor’s degree (Mechanical Engineering or relevant)
• 7+ years of experience working with complex fluids systems
• Strong background in fluid system architecture, operations and application of engineering fundamentals in system design, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer
• Proficient with one or more fluid or thermal modeling tools for internal compressible and incompressible fluid analysis
• Experience using programming languages such as Matlab, Python, or C++ for data analysis or modeling
• Direct experience designing or operating launch vehicle or spacecraft fluid or propulsion systems

Nice to haves but not required:  

• Experience with certification of a vehicle fluid system for NSSL and/or range certification