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Job Description

Overview

This position is for a Structures and Mechanisms Engineer, HLS at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, focusing on human space exploration and the development of systems for deep space exploration. The role involves collaborating with a diverse team to ensure structural readiness and compliance for lunar lander hardware.

Responsibilities

  • Perform risk based structural insight reviews of commercial provider deliverables.
  • Conduct requirements traceability mapping between HLS structural requirements and provider Verification Events.
  • Review provider compliance with HLS adjudicated design and construction standards.
  • Review qualification and acceptance test plans and structural performance verification datasets.
  • Engage with commercial providers through Structures & Mechanisms Insight Forums.
  • Support the HLS Crew Structures Lead with milestone readiness evaluations.
  • Serve as the Responsible Engineer for NASA owned GFP structural readiness.
  • Maintain documentation of structural analyses, load cases, and verification evidence.
  • Review NASA GFP project structural analyses and integration documentation.
  • Coordinate across various teams to ensure proper communication of structural verification evidence.
  • Identify structural risks affecting GFP readiness and escalate to the HLS Crew Structures Lead.
  • Provide monthly GFP project structural readiness status updates.
  • Perform independent structural analyses using CAD/FEA tools.
  • Build and execute finite element models to validate provider assumptions.
  • Conduct targeted NASA structural evaluations to characterize structural risk.
  • Communicate analysis findings and assessments to support decision making.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering.
  • 5-10 years of related experience.
  • 3+ years of experience designing, analyzing, or building structural or mechanical systems.
  • Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, or structural engineering preferred.
  • 5+ years of professional experience in aerospace, automotive, or aviation industries.
  • Familiarity with NASA, DoD, ASME, and AIAA design & construction standards.
  • Proficiency with FEA solvers such as ABAQUS, ANSYS, or Nastran.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO
  • 401k

Additional Information

  • Location: Houston, TX
  • US Citizenship and the ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation is required.

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
401k
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How this job compares in Houston, TX

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welding jobs in Houston, TX currently run a median of $32/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $23–$41/hr across 83 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 Houston, TX

We're tracking 323 other active welding openings in Houston, TX right now, from 189 different employers. 74 of them were added in the last week. Across Texas as a whole we're tracking 1,149 other active welding openings from 516 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Houston, or widen the search to Texas.

Mclaurin Aerospace currently has 1 other opening live in Texas, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Texas at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Austin Industries (34), Zachry Group (28), and Worley (19). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Texas, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Arlington at $39/hr, Dallas at $36/hr, and Pasadena at $36/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • ASME Section IX — the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code qualification. It covers welding on pressure-retaining equipment — boilers, vessels, and process piping — where a failed weld is a safety incident rather than a rework ticket.

Read straight from this posting's text. Confirm the exact qualification the employer wants before you test — requirements vary by shop even under the same code.

Similar openings near Houston, TX

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