Sr. Valves and Actuator Engineer

Overview

At Stoke, we believe that a thriving space economy leads to a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable future here on Earth. We are building our fully and rapidly reusable vehicle, Nova, designed to fly daily and solve core challenges of space transportation—reducing cost, increasing availability, and enhancing reliability. By lowering cost and increasing cadence of launch, we aim to create a scalable space industry.

Stoke’s Valves and Actuators team designs, develops, tests, and produces various in-house and purchased valves and actuators for use on our launch vehicle, Nova. Our designs strive to be reliable and easily manufacturable, supported by Stoke's commitment to in‑house valve and actuator manufacturing for rapid iteration and self-sustainability. Our components are used in applications including engine flow control valves, large propellant valves, high‑pressure gas valves, throttle valve actuators, and engine gimbal TVC actuators.

Our team is mission‑driven, collaborative, and empowered with ownership of their work.

As a Sr. Valves and Actuators Engineer, you will be responsible for defining, designing, manufacturing, testing, and qualifying various valve designs for both the stages and engines. You will own the entire process for your designs. You will have access to the resources you need to get the job done right while boosting your skills at a pace that is hard to match in most roles.

You must be ready to stay focused, move fast, self-direct, and learn on the fly.

• Collect design requirements from multidisciplinary teams, and use these to create concepts for valves and actuators
• Design components for use on our Nova launch vehicle, model parts using Siemens NX CAD software
• Perform structural analysis on components using hand calcs and FEA software
• Perform fluids analysis using hand calcs and CFD software
• Create manufacturing planning for building components in a high-rate production environment. Be involved in valve and actuator builds on the production floor
• Create procedures and execute testing for valves and actuators, including acceptance testing, development testing, and qualification
• Coordinate directly with suppliers to procure parts
• Incorporate design for manufacturing best practices into designs to improve production efficiency
• Work with vehicle fluids, engines, and GNC teams to develop CONOPs and troubleshoot hardware issues on the vehicle

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or similar
• 5+ years of experience in design, build, and testing of valves for aerospace or industrial applications
• Hands on experience performing fabrication and assembly of components
• Exceptional command of fundamentals, including compressible flow, thermodynamics, structures, control systems, cryogenics, and instrumentation
• Understanding of revision-controlled P&’s
• Understanding of aerospace standard fasteners, seals, tubing, fittings, and commercial off the shelf hardware
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Willing to relocate to Seattle, WA

• Proficiency with instrumentation including pressure transducers, thermocouples, load cells, accelerometers, and flow meters
• Proficiency with fluid analysis tools (Siemens AMESim, REFPROP, Excel, Matlab, or equivalent)
• Proficiency in GD&T, tolerance stackups, and material selection
• Extensive experience with CAD tools and configuration management (Siemens NX and Teamcenter preferred)

• Equity – stock options for regular, full-time employees
• Comprehensive benefits program including subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Company-paid life and disability insurance
• 401(k) plan with employer match
• 4 weeks’ Paid Time Off
• Holidays – 10 days (including an end-of-year closure)
• Paid Family/Parental Leave
• On-site gym or monthly wellness stipend (location dependent)
• Dog friendly offices

• Level 4 Range: $151,305 - $252,105
• Level 5 Range: $176,505 - $327,810

Our job posts are intentionally written to attract a wide variety of experience levels, and we make decisions about the right fit on a per‑candidate basis. Your actual level and base salary will be decided based on your specific experience and skill…