---
title: 'Senior Mechanism Simulation Engineer at Space Kinetic'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanism-simulation-engineer-space-kinetic-el-segundo-rns4wjabrx2e'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Senior Mechanism Simulation Engineer at Space Kinetic

- **Company:** Space Kinetic
- **Location:** El Segundo, CA
- **Compensation:** $140k–$200k
- **Posted:** 2026-03-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/spacekinetic/jobs/5131178008

## Job description

A New Paradigm For Space Operations.

Who We Are:

Space Kinetic is a dual use space technology startup building a completely new architecture for space operations – one that brings the advantages of proliferated drone technology (low-cost, operationally flexible, attainable, distributed) to space missions while reducing the ecosystem's reliance on consumable fuel. In a world where many companies are focused on incrementally improving the status quo,  we are focused on creating something entirely different – an architecture underpinned by new first principles to meet the opportunities and challenges of the third space age head-on.  Our goal is to move away from one-to-one space architectures – where each satellite in a constellation has one (or a small # of) primary payloads attached to the bus -- and unlock a ‘one-to-many’ system, where each satellite has a large number of payloads which can be deployed from their host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster.

This is not a role for someone looking for a traditional 40-hour work week. Space Kinetic is building ambitious, first-of-its-kind technology, and that requires urgency, ownership, and a high level of commitment to changing the foundational assumptions for everything we do in space.

What You’ll Do:

The Senior Mechanism Simulation Engineer will be an integral member of the Mechanical Engineering team. The primary responsibilities include the design analysis and test of prototype and flight hardware from the proprietary innovative electromechanical payload of Space Kinetic's core technology to achieve our mission, the  flight demonstration unit, within the next 2 years, and the full production payload facility.  This role is pivotal and  requires high fidelity structural and  kinematics analyses experience aligned with the proper kinematics testing (functional and qualification), test data processing to inform all necessary design changes that will drive the development of our future space mission operations success.

Responsibilities:

- Partner with the manufacturing/engineering teams to develop the innovative Whirlwind Payload design and analyze the corresponding flight hardware.
- Support the design team with detailed mechanisms simulations of the prototype and flight hardware.
- Assist with the development phases, conceiving and verifying the mechanism design, providing feedback to the CAD designs for manufacturing, and working closely with vendors to source components.
- Design the validation and verification (V&V) test that will drive the prototype design improvements and meet space operations mission requirements.
- Scaling and optimizing the mechanism designs to enhance the flight system performance.
- Hardware validation and verification as well as flight hardware qualification tests.

What It Takes:

- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Structural Engineering.
- 10+ years of experience in structural analysis for spacecraft, launch vehicles, or equivalent aerospace hardware.
- Experience in space vehicle structural load requirements across all mission phases: ground handling, transportation, launch/ascent, separation events, on-orbit operations, and disposal, is highly desirable.
- Ability to understand mission concepts, trajectory, motion kinematics and flight dynamics, derive structural design limit loads and requirements a plus.
- Understanding of design limit loads, calculate mechanical margins of safety utilizing applicable factors of safety per standards (NASA, DoD, ECSS, etc.).
- Experience with CAD and CAE packages (NASTRAN, FEMAP, ANSYS, SolidWorks, NX, Simcenter 3D, Vibroacoustic, Thermal Desktop, NX Motion, Amesim etc.) is necessary.
- Ability to develop mathematical models and perform simulations to calculate structural margins, kinematics simulations, dynamics environments.
- Experience in designing and executing system and subsystem dynamics and kinematics testing of flight hardware, understanding test data acquisition and adept at implementing design improvements based on test data.
- Evaluate static, dynamic, transient, shock, random and sine vibration as well as vibroacoustic and kinematics environments.
- Work closely with Structures, Thermal, GNC, Propulsion, manufacturing and System Engineering functional teams.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Government Security Clearance.

## What We’d Love

- Advanced Degrees (Master’s or Ph.D.) in similar discipline are highly desirable with corresponding technical expertise in linear, nonlinear and motion dynamics analysis.
- Experience with space-rated structural mechanisms component design analysis and test.
- Robotics experience, particularly in simulating articulation and complex mechanisms
- Experience working with rotating machinery
- Hands-on experience in testing mechanical hardware for space operations.
- Passion for technology development of complex space operations.
- Demonstrated experience in spacecraft or launch vehicle system development.
- Experience in the proposal writing process for the acquisition of grants and contracts.
- Ability to build and maintain a network of talented individuals. Prioritizes organizational and planning skills.

Where You’ll Be:

- The position is onsite in El Segundo, CA.

What We Offer:

- Competitive Base Salary + Equity-Based Compensation
- Highly Competitive PTO and Holiday Calendar
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
- Unique Performance-Based Bonus Structure

ITAR Requirements: This position is subject to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Candidates must be a U.S. Person (this includes U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, Protected Individual as defined by law), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR [here](https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/ddtc_public/ddtc_public?id=ddtc_kb_article_page&sys_id=24d528fddbfc930044f9ff621f961987)

Equal Employment Opportunity: Space Kinetic provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. The annual base salary for this role is below. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education/experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.

Pay Range $140,000—$200,000 USD

## About Space Kinetic

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Space Kinetic is building a proprietary electromechanical deployment system to make space maneuver ultra-abundant and space systems ultra-affordable, focusing on national security priorities like missile defense and space superiority.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed Stage – $12.0M Seed round led by Balerion Space Ventures in September 2025)
- **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Scott Ziegler and Ryan Sullivan

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Defense and Space Manufacturing
- **Target customers**: U.S. government and defense agencies (national security, missile defense, space superiority); B2G (Business-to-Government)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To rethink space operations down to first principles to deliver game-changing capabilities for missile defense and space superiority, making the space domain more secure, more prosperous, and more resilient.

## Products & Services
- **Whirlwind Platform**: A proprietary electromechanical deployment system that deploys micro-payloads from a host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster. Decouples the propulsion system from the payload to bypass the tyranny of the rocket equation, enabling a “one-to-many” architecture for space missions. Type: Hardware + IP / Space Technology Platform.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric – Total Funding**: $12.2M across 4 rounds (latest: $12.0M Seed Round on 2025-09-13 led by Balerion Space Ventures with 10 investors)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Balerion Space Ventures (lead), CerraCap Ventures, Draper (DraperSPARX partner), AWS Space Accelerator, New Mexico Vintage Fund
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 143.8% year-over-year (now ~35 employees)
  - Active job postings: 24 (monthly job posting growth +71.4%, quarterly +242.9%)
  - 4 offices across the U.S. (El Segundo HQ, Albuquerque, NM)
  - Recent partnerships: Draper named Space Kinetic a DraperSPARX partner (Aug 2025); CerraCap Ventures investment (Aug 2025)
  - LinkedIn followers: 8,570 (yearly growth +832.4%)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary electromechanical deployment technology** that eliminates traditional propellant constraints, enabling abundant low-cost maneuver in space.
- **“One-to-many” architecture** that fundamentally changes space mission economics, making space systems more affordable and scalable.
- **Strong national security focus** with direct relevance to urgent U.S. defense priorities, creating a clear mission-driven market.
- **First-principles engineering approach** that rethinks space operations from the ground up, differentiating from legacy propulsion-dependent systems.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling the Whirlwind platform from prototype to production (currently assembling 5 prototype units).
- Deepening partnerships with defense agencies and strategic partners (Draper, CerraCap Ventures) to accelerate deployment.
- Expanding engineering and manufacturing teams to support rapid iteration and transition to operational systems.
- Continuing to raise capital and secure government contracts to fund growth and product maturation.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture**: Focus on solving the nation’s most urgent national security priorities in space superiority and missile defense.
- **Values**: Intellectual horsepower, curiosity, grit, and commitment to the mission are core.
- **Cutting-edge technical challenges**: Work on novel electromechanical deployment systems, GNC, flight software, and advanced manufacturing.
- **Growth environment**: Rapidly scaling startup (143% headcount growth YoY) with opportunity to define the next era of space operations.
- **Work policy**: Primarily on-site at El Segundo, CA (with some remote roles like ISO Compliance Consultant). Multiple U.S. offices (El Segundo HQ, Albuquerque, NM).
- **Notable perks**: Venture-backed startup with competitive base compensation; opportunity to work directly on hardware prototypes and see them launch.
- **Team composition**: High technical density (47% of staff in technical roles), with many engineers from top universities and companies (Tesla, UC Berkeley, Astra, REGENT).

## Sources
1. [spacekinetic.com](https://www.spacekinetic.com/company)
2. [spacekinetic.com](https://www.spacekinetic.com/)
3. [LinkedIn - Space Kinetic Corp.](https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-kinetic)
4. [Greenhouse - Jobs at Space Kinetic](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/spacekinetic)

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