Spacecraft and Satellite Configuration Design Engineer

Location

Los Angeles, CA

Wage

$110,000 – $175,000/yr

Employment Type

Full-time

Apply for This Position

Posted on November 12, 2026

Job Description

Overview

Backed by NASA, DARPA, and Space Force, this rapidly growing startup aims to achieve asteroid mining through advanced space platforms. The company is looking for a Spacecraft and Satellite Configuration Design Engineer to manage the configuration of satellite platforms and payloads throughout their lifecycle.

Responsibilities

  • Define and maintain spacecraft and satellite configuration baselines and change control processes.
  • Develop, review and release detailed mechanical and electrical configuration design using CAD tools.
  • Perform or coordinate mass properties, center-of-gravity and balance analyses.
  • Coordinate structural and thermal analyses and interpret results to drive design changes.
  • Plan, write and execute environmental test plans and procedures.
  • Lead harness and wiring design and routing, avionic integration and PCB interface reviews.
  • Develop and maintain power budgets and load analysis.
  • Integrate RF/communications subsystems and antennas into the spacecraft configuration.
  • Design, review and verify deployable mechanisms and associated testing.
  • Own AIT/Assembly integration sequencing and launch vehicle integration activities.
  • Manage requirements and traceability using tools like DOORS and Jama.
  • Perform risk analyses and contribute to mitigation plans.
  • Support MBSE activities with SysML/model-based engineering tools.
  • Provide mission operations and proximity-operations support as required.

Requirements

  • 3+ years of experience supporting the design, development, or integration of spacecraft or aerospace systems.
  • Proficiency with 3D CAD tools such as SolidWorks, Creo, NX, or CATIA.
  • Strong understanding of multidisciplinary spacecraft integration principles.
  • Experience conducting engineering trade studies and evaluating system-level configuration options.
  • Ability to perform preliminary engineering assessments such as mass property calculations.
  • Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a relevant discipline.
  • Familiarity with spacecraft thermal design concepts.
  • Understanding of communications hardware integration.
  • Knowledge of spacecraft electrical power hardware packaging.
  • Experience creating technical visualizations and engineering drawings.
  • Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a dynamic engineering environment.
  • Eligibility to work on projects subject to U.S. export control regulations.
  • Ability to work onsite as required.

Benefits

  • Competitive Base Salary
  • Equity
  • Competitive benefits

Additional Information

  • Must be currently authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship.
  • This is a new role.

Benefits

Competitive Base Salary
Equity
Competitive benefits

How this job compares in Los Angeles, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $69/hr, this posting sits about 40% above the $49/hr median for welding jobs in Los Angeles, CA — toward the top of a $37–$67/hr middle band drawn from 55 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 76% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Los Angeles, CA

We're tracking 98 other active welding openings in Los Angeles, CA right now, from 48 different employers. 32 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 498 other active welding openings from 235 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Los Angeles, or widen the search to California.

CyberCoders currently has 1 other opening 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), Relativity Space (17), and Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (13). 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 El Segundo at $53/hr, Long Beach at $50/hr, and Pasadena at $50/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Los Angeles, CA

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