Staff Mechanical Engineer - Spacecraft Components

About the role Muon seeks a Staff Mechanical Engineer to be a technical owner for spacecraft mechanisms and components design; own single-point-failure management (margin, redundancy, test coverage); own component qualification (deployment, life, and environmental testing). The ideal candidate can go deep on design while carrying a "systems mindset" — a force multiplier who collaborates across disciplines to arrive at an elegant, well-balanced design. You'll start from Muon's platform building blocks, tailor and design hardware to meet mission needs, and pull in the right stakeholders (structural, thermal, electrical, systems) at the right times to deliver on time. Being an early-stage company with small teams, breadth is essential: you'll have touch points across engineering, production, and program management. As a staff engineer you'll own strategy spanning multiple subsystems. You'll set platform-level mechanical architecture, define complex complex test campaigns, and own designs across multiple concurrent missions on a six-month-to-year-plus horizon. You'll be the go-to escalation point for the non-routine problems that stump the team. Due to the hands-on nature of this role, it requires onsite work at our San Jose location 3x days a week. What you'll do • Own the mechanical direction of your spacecraft component or mechanisms; from requirements definition through design, build, test, and launch-vehicle integration • Create, analyze, and refine mechanical designs in SolidWorks; tailor Muon's platform components and design new components where required • Perform first-order structural, dynamic, and thermal sizing to guide designs; partner with Muon's dedicated structural and thermal analysis groups on detailed analysis and correlation • Make economically sound make-vs-buy decisions, balancing rapid capability demonstration with the path to constellation-scale production • Lead the mechanical portion of internal and external design reviews (PDR, CDR, MRR) • Lead component/subsystem environmental test campaigns (vibration, TVAC, shock) and disposition results • Produce and release engineering documentation: drawings, GD&T, BOMs, tolerance/mass budgets, and build procedures under configuration control (ECO/DCO, PLM) • Contribute to maturing Muon's mechanical engineering standards, tools, and culture • Own the mechanical architecture and design direction of components for usage across platform/satellite class, balancing multiple concurrent and future missions • Engage directly with stakeholders and launch providers on interfaces, environments, margins, and acceptance criteria; contribute mechanical content to proposals. • Define, document, and champion mechanical design standards, review processes, and best practices that scale across the organization • Act as a force multiplier — mentor engineers at all levels, chair design reviews Required qualifications • 10+ years of experience designing, building, and testing high-reliability hardware • B.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field • Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks preferred) for medium-to-large assembly design and management • Mastery of drawings, GD&T, BOMs, FAIs, tolerance budgets, and mass budgets • Experience with ECO/DCO processes and PLM systems • Demonstrated proficiency leading mechanical design for complex electromechanical systems • Extensive documentation capabilities: build procedures, test plans, design trades, DOEs • Experience managing external vendors for part prototyping and development • Excellent communication, presentation, and cross-functional coordination skills • Strong mentorship skills. • Demonstrated experience creating technical documents (ESOW, Technical Specification, DFMEA, Test Verification Plan) • Experience owning a components used across platform, product line, or major subsystems • Recognized depth in a specialty (e.g., Mechanisms, Composites, or Dynamics) with industry references • Customer-facing experience: technical interchanges, requirements discussions, or proposal contributions Nice-to-have skills • Flight heritage on the following components: Gimbaled Devices, Separation/Launch Interface, Electrical Modules, Battery Packs, Reaction Wheel, CMG, Magnetorquer, Star Trackers, Propulsion, Radiators, Instrument Packaging, Instrument Scan Mechanisms • Experience optimizing and maturing existing designs (not only clean-sheet development) • Familiarity with satellite payloads and mission-level mechanical integration • Experience running structural analyses (FEMAP, ANSYS, NASTRAN) and environmental testing • Experience with thermal management systems for spacecraft • Large-assembly management in SolidWorks PDM; PLM systems (Duro or similar) • Software skills in Python, MATLAB, or similar • Qualifying mechanisms to NASA-STD-5017, ECSS, or equivalent. Salary The salary range for this role is $202,000 - $223,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process. About Muon Space Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world. Taking Care of Our Team At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave. Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too. Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know. ITAR/EAR Requirements This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.