Mechanical Engineer; NASA LTVS Contingent

Mechanical Engineer (NASA LTVS Contingent)

Department: Vehicle Engineering

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Hawthorne, California

Reporting To: Neel Nayak

Compensation: $119,000 - $187,000 / year

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is pioneering new ways to explore and operate on distant planetary bodies. We are singularly focused on designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi-purpose commercial planetary rovers to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system. We are seeking motivated, creative, and exceptional people to join our world-class team.

The Astrolab design team works collaboratively to design, develop, and implement exceptional engineering solutions to enable off-planet exploration. As a Mechanical Engineer within that team, you will be responsible for the design, development, test, flight, and operation of novel structures and actuators critical to the Astrolab lunar rover. You will report to our Staff Mechanical Engineer.

* Employment in this role is contingent on Astrolab being selected as a winner of NASA’s LTVS program, scheduled for announcement on November 15, 2025.

• Collaborate with the engineering design team to understand the mechanical needs of the Astrolab rover, leveraging experience to contribute to the evolution of the design
• Design and analysis of mechanical systems at the full system and subsystem level using software simulation methods and experimental test data
• Define component requirements, understand lunar operational constraints, and effectively communicate these within the team
• Make flight hardware selection decisions and develop the build flow for integrating this hardware into the vehicle for flight
• Develop test plans to validate and qualify mechanical subsystems for flight, coordinating with both in-house and external test facilities to execute testing

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or STEM field
• 2+ years of experience in mechanical system engineering
• Experience using CAD software for part modeling and development
• Experience using software packages for finite element modeling and analysis
• Experience in design for manufacturing and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing of parts

Preferred

Skills and Experience:

• Master’s degree in engineering
• Experience in the engineering of structures, mechanisms, and actuators
• Demonstrated ability to plan and execute flight hardware development programs from the ground up
• Demonstrated experience specifying and executing hardware qualification and acceptance test programs
• Ability to mentor and develop more junior mechanical engineers to build an effective design team

• Work with a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
• Ownership in the company
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) with matching
• Flexible time off and parental leave
• On-site snacks, beverages, and 2x weekly lunches
• Flexible work environment