Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer - Mission Formulation

ABOUT ROCKET LAB

Rocket Lab is an end‑to‑end space company delivering responsive launch services, complete spacecraft design and manufacturing, payloads, satellite components, and more – all with the goal of opening access to space. The rockets and satellites we build and launch enable some of the most ambitious and vital space missions globally, supporting scientific exploration, Earth observation and missions to combat climate change, national security, and exciting new technology demonstrations.

Our Electron rocket has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered more than 230 satellites to orbit, all while we work to develop Neutron, our upcoming medium‑lift, reusable launch vehicle for larger constellation deployment. Our Space Systems business designs and builds an extensive line of satellites, payloads and components, including spacecraft selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars and components used on the James Webb Space Telescope.

At Rocket Lab, we’re not just launching rockets — we're building the future of space. Our Space Systems team builds everything from complete spacecraft, precision payloads to the components and subsystems that allow them to thrive in space, like solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, radios, and more. Our Space Systems team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration to in‑space manufacturing to national security and defense initiatives.

We empower bold and ambitious space missions with missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Based out of Rocket Lab's global headquarters in Long Beach, CA, the Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer – Mission Formulation is responsible for leading the mechanical formulation of all new satellite systems, including structures, mechanisms, and satellite bus configurations to support the capture of new civil, national security, and commercial business. You will manage the development and maintenance of mass and mechanical technical budgets, mechanical requirements definition, configuration trades, test planning and execution, and overall management of the mechanical systems engineering process, including validation of customer requirements.

You will support the Vice President of Business Development and Strategy and the broader Space Systems Business Development organization, with deliverables required for internal leadership, board of directors, and investors. (

Please note:

this position can be hired at the Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer I or Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer II level).

• Lead Rocket Lab’s satellite mechanical engineering formulation supporting business development and new opportunity capture
• Develop high performance and lightweight satellite bus configurations, structures, and mechanisms for our customers
• Develop concepts and satellite configurations for high value science and interplanetary missions
• Define what mechanisms and deployment systems look like on a modern satellite system/bus
• Develop and maintain mass and mechanical technical budgets for vehicle performance
• Develop mechanical system requirements and verification techniques
• Conduct structural, mechanism, and packaging analyses across vehicle functions, including hand‑calcs and FEA
• Apply test methods and data analysis (structural, thermal, Vibe)
• Lead and own the mechanical technical development of spacecraft missions from conceptual design through production, test, and operation
• Create and maintain product definition through CAD, production drawings, and test and operations procedures
• Assist with program and product management, including development schedules, vendors, and budgets
• Develop, in collaboration with team members, mechanical interface specifications, CONOPS definition, and other design documents

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering; or other technical discipline
• 5+ years of mechanical engineering experience in the aerospace industry
• Ex…