Senior Satellite Bus Structures Designer

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.

Responsibilities

• 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, structural-design, and configuration-management standards.

Basic Qualifications

• Three or more years of professional experience designing spacecraft structures, aerospace structures, or complex mechanical hardware for spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile systems, or other high-reliability applications.

• Demonstrated ownership of structural or mechanical hardware from concept through detailed design, manufacturing, integration, and test.

• Strong CAD experience with large assemblies and released drawings, including interface management, configuration changes, and engineering bills of materials.

• Working knowledge of structural design fundamentals and launch and space environments, including static loads, vibration, shock, vacuum, thermal cycling, and temperature extremes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience designing spacecraft primary and secondary structures, including panels, decks, frames, brackets, equipment mounts, payload interfaces, or launch-vehicle interfaces.

• Experience defining spacecraft physical architecture and integrating propulsion, avionics, mechanisms, thermal hardware, payloads, harnessing, and other subsystems within a constrained vehicle envelope.

• High proficiency with CAD software; Siemens NX experience is strongly preferred, especially with complex top-level assemblies and subsystem interfaces.

• Experience with Teamcenter or another PLM system for EBOM ownership, revision control, and release workflows.

• Proficiency with Nastran, ANSYS, FEMAP, Abaqus, or similar FEA tools and using analysis results to guide design.

• Strong understanding of ASME Y14.5 drafting and GD&T, including datum strategies for vehicle and subsystem interfaces.

• Knowledge of spacecraft structural materials, manufacturing, and joint design, including metallic, composite, sandwich-panel, bolted, and bonded construction.

• Experience managing mass properties, coordinate systems, envelopes, clearances, and interface geometry within CAD.

• Experience supporting static, vibration, shock, and fit-check verification or qualification testing.

• Hands-on experience with aerospace hardware assembly, alignment, inspection, metrology, machining, and troubleshooting.

• Experience developing CAD, drawing, reusable-library, or configuration-management standards.

Pay Range: $145,000 - $205,000