Propulsion Engineer III (Miranda)

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

As an end-to-end space transportation company, Firefly Aerospace is on a mission to enable our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

As a Senior Propulsion Engineer you will leverage your creativity, ingenuity, and experience to produce the next generation of rocket engines for space exploration and accessibility. At Firefly we strive to make the world’s most reliable rocket engine by decreasing complexity to increase reliability and performance while lowering cost. In this role you will produce innovative solutions to challenging problems throughout a project’s full life cycle, including design, analysis, manufacturing, testing, and operational support. You will take profound ownership of your projects, and will collaborate with other departments and product groups (propulsion manufacturing, vehicle systems, avionics, test operations, ground support engineering) to make critical decisions. To be successful in this role, you should embrace challenging problems and be able to synthesize disparate pieces of information to establish the best path forward. Your passion and determination will create leading edge propulsion systems in a fast-paced environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan, coordinate, and execute development, qualification, and acceptance hotfire testing of launch vehicle engines.
• Develop new, innovative design concepts for propulsion components and experimental tooling, that reduce part count and complexity
• Execute design for manufacturability changes to enhance production efficiency
• Serve as a mentor for the existing propulsion engineers, providing technical guidance and leadership

• Operate between propulsion design, manufacturing, and test to fill in gaps and communicate engine configurations in support of satisfying program objectives and engine integration operations

• Identify and trade strategies to meet design requirements of flight hardware and tooling
• Make development decisions based on technical merit, risk, cost, schedule, and/or quality assurance
• Assist in the development of manufacturing, integration, and test processes, including work instructions, test procedures, and early build support
• Partner with engineering and production teams to generate ideas, designs, and improvements for current and next-generation liquid rocket engines

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
• 3+ years of experience in a related aerospace or mechanical field, with a focus in propulsion or fluid systems
• Experience leading technical reviews (design & analysis) or investigations (risk, anomaly, or trade studies)
• Proven experience in data review, data analysis, and report generation
• Experience in Siemens NX or equivalent CAD program

• Comprehension of design fundamentals including tolerancing, ASME Standards, ASTM, and GD&T

• Strong engineering fundamentals in compressible and incompressible flow, heat transfer, combustion devices, rocket engine cycles, and mechanics
• Understanding of P&IDs, fluid system sizing, fluid component and instrumentation selection, fluid dynamics fundamentals, cryogenic systems and pressurized systems
• Experience with maturing a conceptual design for use in a production environment
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills

Desired

• MS or PhD in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
• Familiarity with presenting trade studies, risks, schedules, requirements, and budget to program management or leadership
• Experience with liquid rocket engine development, design, test, or flight operations
• Experience with liquid rocket engine subcomponent or pressurized component (valves, regulators, tubes, pipes, etc.) development, design, or test
• A passion for product optimization design and rapid manufacturing
• Hands-on experience with integrating test articles and sub-assemblies for test or production
• Proven experience in working with data acquisition systems and test instrumentation including pressure transducers, thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors, flow meters, load cells, and accelerometers
• Familiarity with some or all of the following software packages: Python, LabVIEW, GFSSP, Winplot, or other control, data acquisition, and reduction software

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.