Senior Mechanical Engineer

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At Cesium Astro , we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, Cesium Astro is the place for you.

We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

The Skylark product line is focused on the rapid design, build, and test ofcutting-edge active phased array antennas (AESA) for terrestrial and airborne applications. Current programs span high-power, large-scale ground terminals for missile defense to commercial airline and helicopter connectivity solutions.

We are looking to add a Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer to our team. If you enjoy working in a startup environment and are passionate about developing space hardware for leading-edge communications satellites, we would like to hear from you.

In this position, you will be responsible for leading a team of engineers responsible for mechanical aspects of Cesium Astro spacecraft, subsystems, and interfaces through all phases of the development process. The ideal candidate will be versatile and proficient in mechanical design, electronics packaging, computer-aided design (CAD), mechanical interfaces, thermal architecture, deployable and actuated structures, and environmental qualification of spacecraft. You will use these skills to effectively direct, mentor, and grow a team of upcoming engineers in the design of a novel satellite.

As a Cesium Astro spacecraft team lead and responsible mechanical authority, you will manage a small team to develop satellites and put them in orbit. You will be responsible for delivering robust mechanical designs from concept through space flight including requirements definition, architecture trades and block diagrams, analysis, manufacturing, assembly, testing, qualification, and in-orbit support. In this role you will also collaborate closely with GNC, EPS, CDH, Payload, RF, Systems, and AI&T teams.

The successful candidate will also present engineering design review materials to our customers and executive team, as well as participate in proposal-writing efforts. As such, excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.

• Bachelor of Science (BS) or Master of Science (MS) degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering from an accredited university or institution.
• 12 years of experience in communications satellite structures and mechanisms design from concept design to decommissioning across multiple programs.
• At least 5 years of experience leading technical teams.
• Significant contributions to multiple flight missions, plus lead ownership of one or more full mechanical development cycles at the space vehicle level.
• Ability to support subsystem leads with clear mechanical interfaces and cross-functional alignment.
• Hands-on experience in satellite and large instrument AI&T that leads directly to design implementation.
• Strong opinions on the meaning of engineering rigor and lean process.
• Experience including failure and recovery of mechanism operations in test and in operations, as well as loss of mission due to mechanism failure (experience with…