Engine Systems & Test Team- Staff Combustion Device Test Engineer

About the Team: 

The propulsion team at Relativity is responsible for the successful development of the engines that will power the Terran R vehicle. We own their design from concept through to launch and reuse. Our team partners heavily with manufacturing, test, launch, and integration teams, striving to develop our engines in record time and to support Terran R's first launch in 2026. As part of this team, you will help build, test, and iterate on the full product lifecycle of our Aeon-R engine systems, seeing them mature and eventually bring Terran R into space.

About the Role: 

This role is on the Component Test Team, within the Engine Systems & Test team. Our work spans simulation & software tools; system-level architecture, requirements, and interfaces; component & integrated system hotfire testing; and more. We collaborate closely with component engineers, our manufacturing team, our Stennis test team, and our Cape launch team to deliver engines that will successfully propel the Terran rocket to orbit. We strive for continuous improvement and support the development of our technical hardware and human teammates alike.

This role may span several areas of our team depending on your skillset and the team’s needs at the time.

• In the test part of your role, you will serve as a Responsible Engineer for propulsion test articles.
  • You will develop test plans in collaboration with product owners, and you will execute test campaigns with our Stennis team, troubleshooting technical puzzles along the way.
  • You will own the exploratory operation of new and existing test article designs, diving deep into the evaluation of test hardware behavior in support of continuous engine development and certification.
  • This role is extremely varied day-to-day and, in addition to overall campaign ownership, can include writing test sequences, reviewing data, hands-on work with test articles, writing code, sitting console for hotfire tests, designing tooling, and more.
• Most test roles also involve systems work – on this side of your role, you may support engine subsystem troubleshooting, partner team product investigations, engine or component analysis and simulation, trade studies, and more.
• As our vehicle development program progresses, you may have the opportunity to be involved in stage test and flight campaigns.
• You will also take ownership of projects of your creation to increase our collective efficiency.
• As a staff engineer, you should have enthusiasm for mentorship & will be expected to have high impact on the team around you.

In order to be successful in this role, you should be capable of leading collaborative projects to completion with minimal oversight. You should also be a self-starter who is always looking for ways to improve yourself & learn more about the systems that interface with yours. Along with these high expectations comes the opportunity to have a significant influence on a fast-growing startup company and to make rapid professional gains in an environment that encourages growth and risk.

Work schedule & travel:

• This role is full-time onsite in Long Beach, CA, and requires an average of 25% travel to our test & launch sites.
  • We are open to candidates who would prefer to be located full-time onsite at Stennis in Mississippi with 25% travel to Long Beach & the launch site.
• This role may occasionally require weekend work for critical milestones.

About you: 

• Bachelor’s degree in a science, engineering, technology, or mathematics field
• 8+ years relevant experience in a complex engineering system development and/or test environment
• Experience with:
  • Applying engineering fundamentals in fluid mechanics & thermodynamics
  • Problem-solving
  • Working in a collaborative environment
• Exposure to test operations environments
• Experience designing, analyzing, testing, or developing at least one of the following: combustion devices, valves, heat exchangers, or instrumentation

Nice to haves, but not required:

• We believe varied perspectives & backgrounds strengthen our team. Prior experience in aerospace is not required