Senior Satellite Bus Structures Designer

Bothell, WA

Portal Space Systems is on a mission to expand humanity’s freedom of movement in space. We’re building the spacecraft that makes that mission possible. From our Bothell, WA headquarters, we design vehicles with the maneuverability, resilience, and adaptability needed for the next era of orbital operations. Every system we build is in service of a simple idea: space should be more accessible, responsive, and capable.

Joining Portal means stepping into a team that believes in bold engineering, fast iteration, and the power of small groups to change what’s possible. If you want your work to directly shape the future of in‑space mobility, join us.

To build our spacecraft, we need experienced designers who can own the satellite bus structure and the vehicle‑level physical definition that ties every subsystem together. This includes primary and secondary structures, the top‑level CAD assembly, the full engineering bill of materials (EBOM), and spacecraft physical architecture.

As a Senior Satellite Bus Structures Designer, you will own the bus structure from initial architecture through detailed design, manufacturing, integration, qualification, and flight support. You will define load paths, equipment mounting, interfaces, packaging, and vehicle configuration while maintaining an accurate top‑level digital definition of the satellite.

This is a hands‑on hardware development role requiring close collaboration with structural and thermal analysis, avionics, guidance, navigation and control, propulsion, mechanisms, manufacturing, integration, test, systems engineering, and suppliers. You will be expected to move quickly, make sound engineering decisions, and own the physical vehicle configuration as the spacecraft evolves.

• Own the lifecycle of satellite bus structural design, from requirements and interface definition through concept, detailed design, manufacturing, integration, verification, qualification, and flight support.
• Define primary and secondary structural architectures and load paths, including panels, decks, frames, brackets, equipment mounts, and major vehicle interfaces.
• Own spacecraft physical architecture and packaging, including subsystem placement, volume allocation, access, clearances, keep‑outs, assembly sequence, and mechanical interfaces.
• Own and maintain the authoritative top‑level spacecraft CAD assembly, ensuring subsystem models integrate correctly and represent the intended vehicle configuration.
• Own the complete satellite EBOM and keep CAD, PLM, part quantities, revisions, and the released spacecraft configuration aligned.
• Translate spacecraft requirements into structural and mechanical design criteria including strength, stiffness, dynamic response, alignment, interface loads, mass, envelope, and dimensional stability.
• Apply first‑order calculations and simplified models, and work with structural and thermal analysts to size hardware, evaluate joints and load paths, and iterate rapidly.
• Create and review detailed parts, assemblies, drawings, and interface documentation using appropriate GD&T practices in accordance with ASME Y14.5.
• Maintain vehicle‑level mass properties from the CAD configuration, including center‑of‑mass and inertia tracking as the design matures.
• Define assembly, alignment, inspection, and verification methods, and resolve fit, interference, interface, and configuration issues during spacecraft build.
• Balance structural performance, mass, manufacturability, assembly simplicity, accessibility, cost, and schedule while driving practical, standardized design solutions.
• Serve as technical owner for bus structural design and vehicle physical configuration, mentor junior designers, and help develop Portal's CAD, drawing,…