--- title: 'Senior Mechanical Engineer (Structures) at Starpath Robotics' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-structures-starpath-robotics-future-factory-d3tyf1d51hq9' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-13' --- # Senior Mechanical Engineer (Structures) at Starpath Robotics - **Company:** Starpath Robotics - **Location:** Future Factory - **Compensation:** $165k–$200k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-09-28 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-13 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/starpath.space/7b67978b-af52-49f0-a3f8-54b8839fabb6 ## Job description Position Details - Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA - Employment Type: Full-time - Department: Starlight Solar - Travel: Occasional The Mission Starpath develops and manufactures the technologies that will enable humans to live on the Moon and Mars. Today, we are building robotic systems that locally produce the essential commodities a lunar civilization will require at extreme scale: water, power, and oxygen. Our ultimate goal is to build and operate a self-sustaining city on Mars. Senior Mechanical Engineer (Structures) The Starlight team is focused on dramatically improving space solar power to support Starpath’s core mission and the broader space economy. Starlight manufactures the lowest-cost, highest-performance space solar power systems, which will power the majority of new satellites built on Earth and all of Starpath’s equipment on the Moon and Mars. As a Senior Mechanical Engineer on the Structures team, you will own the structural architecture, design, analysis, and qualification of Starlight’s solar array hardware. You will serve as a technical authority for lightweight space structures, resolving complex design and integration challenges from early trade studies through flight qualification and production. Responsibilities: - Own structural systems from architecture through detailed design, analysis, fabrication, qualification, and flight - Establish structural requirements, load cases, factors of safety, margin policies, and verification approaches - Lead architectural trades involving mass, stiffness, strength, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and system performance - Develop efficient load paths and lightweight primary and secondary structures, interfaces, brackets, housings, and mechanisms - Perform and review hand calculations and FEA covering stress, stiffness, buckling, fatigue, joints, thermal distortion, modal response, and dynamic environments - Develop and maintain structural models, loads documentation, margin summaries, and verification records - Own material, fastener, joint, finish, and manufacturing-process selections for the launch and space environments - Define structural qualification and acceptance-test programs covering static load, vibration, shock, and modal testing - Lead test-to-model correlation and use test results to improve both hardware and analytical models - Lead structural design reviews, failure investigations, risk-reduction efforts, and corrective actions - Work across thermal, avionics, mechanisms, controls, and systems teams to define interfaces and resolve coupled design challenges - Partner with manufacturing and suppliers to develop repeatable fabrication, inspection, assembly, and production processes - Identify structural risks early and create focused analysis or testing plans to retire them - Mentor engineers and establish sound structural design, analysis, documentation, and test practices - Drive mass reduction and design simplification without compromising structural integrity Required Qualifications: - Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, structural engineering, or a related discipline - 6+ years of professional mechanical-design or structural-engineering experience - Demonstrated ownership of complex structural hardware from concept through qualification or production - Strong command of structural mechanics, load paths, joints, stress, stiffness, buckling, fatigue, and structural dynamics - Proficiency with 3D CAD, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and detailed engineering drawings - Advanced experience performing and reviewing structural analysis using hand calculations and FEA - Experience defining structural test programs and correlating analytical models with test data - Hands-on experience building, testing, troubleshooting, and improving mechanical hardware - Ability to lead technical decisions, communicate risk clearly, and coordinate across engineering and manufacturing teams - Evidence of exceptional engineering ability Preferred Qualifications: - Advanced degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, structural engineering, or a related discipline - Experience owning structures that have survived launch and operated in space - Advanced proficiency with Nastran, Abaqus, Ansys, Femap, or similar FEA tools - Experience with quasi-static loads, random vibration, shock response, modal analysis, thermal distortion, fatigue, and coupled-loads analysis - Experience leading static load, vibration, shock, and modal qualification campaigns - Expertise in test planning, instrumentation, data interpretation, and test-to-model correlation - Experience designing lightweight structures across machined, sheet-metal, welded, composite, and bonded construction - Deep knowledge of aerospace materials, fasteners, joint design, and structural margin policies - Experience with deployable structures, hinges, latches, actuators, or other spacecraft mechanisms - Familiarity with NASA-STD-5001, GEVS, and other applicable aerospace structural standards - Experience transitioning flight hardware from prototype development into repeatable production EAR Requirements: - To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, you must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Equal Opportunity: - Starpath is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Benefits: At Starpath Robotics, base pay is just one part of your total rewards package. We also offer: - Generous benefits including health, dental, vision, and retirement plans. - Paid time off, holidays, and flexible policies to support balance. - Professional growth opportunities through training and development. - The chance to own high-impact work that directly shapes the future of robotics & space! - A collaborative, mission-driven culture where craftsmanship and innovation are celebrated. ## About Starpath Robotics ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Starpath Robotics designs and manufactures robotic propellant production factories for the Moon and Mars, aiming to reduce the cost of deep-space transport and enable a self-sustaining human city on Mars. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage) - **Headquarters**: Hawthorne, California, United States - **Founded**: 2022 - **Founders**: Saurav Shroff (CEO & Co-Founder), Mihir Gondhalekar (Co-Founder) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Space Research and Technology, Air Transportation, Space Travel, Robotics - **Target customers**: B2B – space agencies (NASA), commercial space companies (e.g., Starship operators), satellite operators, and future Mars/Moon infrastructure developers. - **Mission or purpose statement**: “Building a self-sustaining city on Mars” by producing propellant and infrastructure in space. ## Products & Services - **Rover (R10)**: Autonomous lunar ice prospecting rover that excavates and delivers hundreds of kilograms of icy regolith. Built for NASA testing and future lunar operations. - **Refinery System**: Full-stack hardware system for producing and distributing propellant (oxygen, hydrogen, methane) from water ice on the Moon and Mars. - **Starlight Solar**: Space-rated solar panels that are 90% cheaper than traditional alternatives, with lead times of weeks instead of months. Available for purchase now. - **Starlight Air**: The world’s lightest space solar panel (announced March 2026). Engineered for high-efficiency power generation. - **Shadow Voyager**: Exploration vehicle designed for permanently shadowed regions at the Lunar South Pole. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total Funding – $12.0M (Seed round closed August 20, 2024) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: - Fusion Fund (lead investor in Seed round per LinkedIn) - 8VC and 10 other investors (per Crunchbase) - Contrary, Valhalla Ventures - NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (testing partnership) - Atomic-6 (development contract for deployable lunar boom) - **Growth Signals**: - Headcount grew 73.7% year-over-year to 28 employees (LinkedIn, 2026) - Successful thermal vacuum chamber testing at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (2025) - Launch of Starlight Air solar panels (2026) - Active hiring for technical roles including first Technical Recruiter ## Competitive Advantages - **Ex-SpaceX founding team**: Deep expertise in space hardware and propulsion. - **Full-stack approach**: Covers rover mining, propellant refinery, and solar power – a vertically integrated solution for in-situ resource utilization. - **NASA collaboration**: Early access to NASA’s test facilities (e.g., 20-ft thermal vacuum chamber) and credibility. - **Cost disruption**: Starlight solar panels claim 90% cost reduction vs. traditional space solar. - **First-mover on lunar ice**: Autonomous rover designed to establish the first American claim to lunar ice resources. ## Strategic Focus - **Lunar testbed**: Use the Moon as a proving ground for Mars propellant production technology, leveraging lunar water ice. - **City-scale infrastructure**: Scale from propellant production to energy grids, mining capacity, and life support for a self-sustaining Mars city. - **Revenue diversification**: Selling Starlight solar panels and rover services to generate near-term revenue while pursuing long-term Mars goals. - **Talent scaling**: Aggressively hiring to grow the engineering team (technical roles are 48% of workforce). ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Startup environment with a bold mission (“build a city on Mars”). High ownership and fast iteration – interns are expected to do “whatever needs doing.” - **Growth**: Company growing rapidly (+73.7% YoY headcount); opportunities for early employees to take on significant responsibility. - **Technical depth**: Team includes alumni from SpaceX, Boston Dynamics, Anduril, Astrobotic – strong engineering culture. - **Work location**: Hawthorne, CA (HQ) with additional office in Burlingame, CA. Onsite presence expected (manufacturing and testing require hands-on work). - **Notable perks**: Not explicitly listed, but startup equity and the chance to work on hardware that goes to the Moon and Mars. - **Recent hiring signals**: Actively recruiting Technical Recruiter, software engineers, and rover engineers – indicating scaling phase. ## Sources 1. [starpath.space](https://www.starpath.space/) 2. [starpath.space/about](https://starpath.space/about/) 3. [crunchbase.com](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/starpath-robotics) 4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/starpathspace) ## Other roles at Starpath Robotics - [Avionics Engineer (Power Electronics)](https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-engineer-power-electronics-starpath-robotics-carson-xqkj5wk157fe) — Carson, CA - [Senior Mechanical Engineer (Rotary Actuators)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-rotary-actuators-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-cje1gv5ab5ya) — Hawthorne, CA - [Shipping and Receiving Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/shipping-and-receiving-associate-starpath-robotics-future-factory-pa7qy3d0j9s4) — Future Factory - [Electrical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-starpath-robotics-future-factory-5p7q393d011w) — Future Factory - [Electrical Engineer (Early)](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-early-starpath-robotics-future-factory-12scmtdrdb8g) — Future Factory - [Intern/Associate Engineer - All Roles](https://feeny.ai/job/intern-associate-engineer-all-roles-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-x72ernec0zvg) — Hawthorne, CA - [Chemical / Materials Engineer – Space Solar](https://feeny.ai/job/chemical-materials-engineer-space-solar-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-pjhey2tmt22v) — Hawthorne, CA - [CNC Machinist Setup & Operation – MILL](https://feeny.ai/job/cnc-machinist-setup-operation-mill-starpath-robotics-future-factory-z0f3k4xnmat8) — Future Factory - [CNC Machinist Setup & Operation – LATHE](https://feeny.ai/job/cnc-machinist-setup-operation-lathe-starpath-robotics-future-factory-fej8ssxcxj3d) — Future Factory - [Senior CNC Programmer & Prototype Machinist – MILL](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-cnc-programmer-prototype-machinist-mill-starpath-robotics-future-factory-0f5924ch61c5) — Future Factory