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Job Description

Overview

Starpath Robotics is developing a full-stack solution for commercial scale rocket propellant production on the Moon and Mars. The Senior/Principal Mechanical Engineer will be responsible for the development of critical mechanical systems on Starpath’s Rover platform.

Responsibilities

  • Own architectures, systems, subsystems, and components from requirements to deployment
  • Conduct trade studies and perform first-order calculations to define system requirements
  • Determine qualification testing criteria in accordance with spaceflight testing standards
  • Validate subsystems & components via testing in a simulated launch/Lunar environments
  • Work cross-functionally with adjacent teams to incorporate electrical/thermal/software requirements while meeting integration timelines and system milestones
  • Identify & action high-level improvements to program operation and direction

Requirements

  • B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
  • 5+ years of experience developing hardware systems for space applications
  • Experience with CAD (NX, Catia, SolidWorks, etc) and analysis (ANSYS, ABAQUS, etc) tools
  • Working knowledge of engineering materials, manufacturing processes, and structural analysis
  • Strong technical communication and the ability to work in a fast-paced team environment
  • Advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field (preferred)
  • 10+ years of experience developing hardware systems for space applications (preferred)
  • Track record of owning spaceflight hardware across the entire product lifecycle (preferred)
  • Extensive experience with space-grade electromechanical rotary actuators and drive systems, space mechanisms, or rigid body dynamics and/or vibration analysis (preferred)
  • Experience running shock, vibration, thermal, and other environmental qualification campaigns (preferred)

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA
  • Employment Type: Full-time
  • Travel: Occasional

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
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How this job compares in Hawthorne, CA

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welding jobs in Hawthorne, CA currently run a median of $35/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $31–$58/hr across 40 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market in Hawthorne, CA

We're tracking 44 other active welding openings in Hawthorne, CA right now, from 6 different employers. 16 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 592 other active welding openings from 268 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Hawthorne, or widen the search to California.

Starpath currently has 3 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (37), Vast (18), and Relativity Space (17). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Gardena at $73/hr, Redondo Beach at $72/hr, and Pasadena at $61/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Hawthorne, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Senior/Principal Mechanical Engineer figures were last recalculated when this page was built.