Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

A venture-backed New Space company is hiring a Senior Satellite Design Engineer to help lead the design of a next-generation LEO broadband satellite system.

This is a broad, high-ownership role for someone who has already worked on modern satellite programmes and understands what it takes to design, build, test, qualify, and manufacture satellites at pace.

The company is developing a new satellite payload and antenna architecture for LEO communications. They have an upcoming in-space demonstration and are now building the team needed to move from advanced development into scalable constellation deployment. This is not a narrow subsystem role.

They need someone who can look across the full satellite design and say:

“What’s missing?”

“What’s risky?”

“What is over-engineered?”

“What needs more rigour?”

“How do we actually build this at volume?”

You’ll help shape the architecture and execution plan for a new LEO satellite platform built around a proprietary payload. The work will include:

• Reviewing the full satellite design and identifying gaps
• Leading system-level trade studies
• Assessing risk across architecture, manufacturing, qualification, and test
• Helping select and challenge vendors and subcontractors
• Defining practical approaches to satellite qualification and acceptance testing
• Advising on design-for-manufacture and cost optimisation
• Supporting customer-specific satellite design variations where needed
• Helping the company move from technical theory into repeatable execution

Initially, the role will lean heavily towards architecture and design judgement. As the programme moves forward, it will become increasingly focused on execution, manufacturing, qualification, and deployment.

The ideal person has worked on modern small satellite or constellation programmes where satellites had to be built quickly, cost-effectively, and at volume.

Strong fits could come from environments such as:

• LEO constellation programmes
• Fast-moving venture-backed space companies

They're especially interested in people who have seen how satellite programmes succeed and fail in the real world. You do not need to have managed a large team, but you do need to have strong technical ownership and the judgement to challenge a full satellite design.

• Strong satellite systems knowledge across multiple subsystems
• Technical ownership on at least one previous satellite programme
• Practical understanding of satellite manufacturing, qualification, test, and deployment
• Ability to run or contribute to trade studies
• Comfort working with vendors and external engineering partners
• Ability to use modelling tools such as Python, MATLAB, Excel, or similar
• Comfortable in a small, fast-moving, ambiguous engineering environment
• Able to work on-site in Long Beach

• Experience building satellites at volume
• Experience with design-for-manufacture
• Experience deciding what level of testing and qualification is actually required
• Experience with cost-sensitive satellite development
• Previous startup / New Space experience