---
title: 'Senior Stress Analyst at Stoke Space'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-stress-analyst-stoke-space-kent-q9vpwprm8kgf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Senior Stress Analyst at Stoke Space 

- **Company:** Stoke Space 
- **Location:** Kent, WA
- **Posted:** 2026-09-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/stokespacetechnologies/jobs/6183157004

## Job description

At Stoke, we believe a thriving space economy will enable a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable future here on Earth. That is why we’re building Nova, our fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicle. Designed for daily flight, Nova tackles the core challenges of space transportation by reducing cost, increasing availability, and improving reliability. By radically lowering launch costs and increasing flight cadence, we’re helping create a truly scalable space industry.

Our team is mission-driven, collaborative, and empowered to take ownership of their work. If you want to work alongside some of the most dedicated and talented people on Earth, we’d love to have you join us.

Description

Reusable systems are the key to seamlessly connecting Earth and space. Structural analysis is at the heart of making parts, assemblies, and systems that last for thousands of uses. As a Senior Structural Analyst at Stoke, This role presents a unique opportunity to work on aerospace structures across different systems. This role is applicable to analysts who specialize in either launch vehicles or propulsion systems or analysts with (or desiring) broad experience across both. As part of a small, well-supported team, you will have access to the resources you need to get the job done right while simultaneously boosting your skills at a pace that can't be matched in most other roles

## Responsibilities

- Own the structural integrity of a module or subsystem of the Nova launch vehicle
- Lead and coordinate structural analysis efforts across multiple engineers
- Mentor and support a team of REs in structural integrity
- Translate system level structural requirements down to component designers
- Drive consistent structural analysis and test processes across your module or subsystem
- Develop methods and tools to support the module team
- Drive gaps in material and loads databases to closure to support the module team
- Develop analysis models to substantiate parts and/or decompose loads to other team members
- Technical review and approval authority of the stress work of others
- Develop loads and load cases, communicate them to stakeholders, and implement them in analysis as needed
- Identify required structural testing, develop test plans, and participate in validation testing
- Identify and communicate risks to leadership
- Other responsibilities as required

## Minimum Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field or equivalent experience
- 7-10 years of experience analyzing launch vehicles, rocket engines, or other transferrable experience
- Solid structural mechanics fundamentals including static strength, stability, fatigue, and fracture
- Experience with common commercial FEA solvers such as ANSYS or NASTRAN
- Experience with basic scripting or automation tools (Python or MATLAB preferred) for analysis workflow improvement
- Experience interpreting and verifying against structural requirements
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Collaborative mindset with ability to both contribute ideas and implement team decisions
- Demonstrated ability to mentor other engineers

## Preferred Qualifications

- Master's degree in related technical field
- Experience with developing structural test plans and material characterization testing
- Experience with common launch vehicle structural design standards (NASA STD 5012, AIAA-S-080, etc)
- Experience with both vehicle primary structure and engine components
- Experience with ANSYS
- Familiarity with industry approaches and tools for damage tolerance (NASA STD 5019, NASGRO)

## Benefits

- Equity – We know that our employees are the reason we succeed. To give everyone a stake in our future, we are pleased to offer equity in the form of stock options to all regular, full-time employees.
- Comprehensive benefits program including subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Company-paid life and disability insurance
- 401(k) plan with employer match
- 4 weeks’ Paid Time Off
- Holidays – 10 days (including an end-of-year closure)
- Paid Family/Parental Leave
- On-site gym or monthly wellness stipend (depending on location)
- Dog friendly offices!

## Compensation

Target Levels:

- Level 3: $129,150 - $193,620
- Level 4: $151,305 - $252,105
- Level 5: $151,305 - $327,810

Our job posts are intentionally written to attract a wide variety of experience levels, and we make decisions about the right fit on a per-candidate basis.

Your actual level and base salary will be decided based on your specific experience and skill level.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

## Equal Opportunity

The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including with respect to disability and veteran status.  It is committed to compliance with all equal opportunity laws, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title VII.   It does not discriminate on the basis of nationality, race, citizenship, immigration status, or any other protected class when it comes to employment practices, including hiring.

Employment at the Company is contingent upon satisfactory completion of reference and background checks, and on your ability to prove your identity and authorization to work in the U.S. for the Company.  Employees must comply with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services employment verification requirements, and, therefore, they must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 at the start of employment and re-verify authorization to work periodically.

Separate from this I-9 process, this position entails access to certain technology and technical data that is restricted under U.S. export control laws and regulations.  Employment or continued employment may be conditioned on your legal authorization to work with or have access to export control materials as necessary to perform your job.

Candidate Rights & Accommodations

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete the application or participate in the interview process, please contact careers@stokespace.com. Requests will be handled in accordance with applicable laws. Please do not include medical or other confidential information in your initial request.

For more information about your rights, please refer to the "Know Your Rights" notice [here](https://www.eeoc.gov/know-your-rights-workplace-discrimination-illegal).

E-Verify

Stoke Space uses E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.

For more information on the right to work, please refer to the poster [here](https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf).

## About Stoke Space 

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Stoke Space is developing Nova, a 100% fully and rapidly reusable medium-lift launch vehicle to dramatically reduce the cost of access to, through, and from space.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series D, $1.4B total funding)
- **Headquarters**: Kent, Washington, USA
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Andy Lapsa (CEO) and Tom Feldman (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Aerospace & Defense / Space Launch Services
- **Target customers**: Commercial satellite operators, government agencies (NASA, DoD), space logistics providers, and the emerging space economy.
- **Mission**: To unlock the space economy by providing affordable, on-demand, and sustainable access to space through full and rapid reusability.

## Products & Services
- **Nova Launch Vehicle**: A two-stage, fully and rapidly reusable medium-lift rocket. The first stage uses a cluster of Zenith full-flow staged combustion engines, and the second stage is a unique, reusable upper stage with an integrated heat shield designed for re-entry and reuse. The goal is a 20x reduction in cost to orbit compared to current expendable rockets.
- **Boltline**: A separate business unit focused on selling high-performance aerospace hardware and components (engines, structures, avionics) to other companies. This vertical integration strategy generates revenue and manufacturing experience outside of the launch vehicle itself.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$1.4B** (as of Feb 2026). The most recent round was an $860M Series D extension, led by Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT).
- **Notable Investors**: US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and other mission-driven institutional investors. The board includes Lt. Gen. John Shaw (former Deputy Commander, U.S. Space Command) and advisors like Hans Koenigsmann (SpaceX employee #4) and Robb Kulin (former SpaceX Chief Engineer).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount has grown **58.2% YoY** to 323 employees (LinkedIn). The company has completed major technical milestones including a full-scale flight demonstration of its reusable upper stage (Sept 2023), a vertical hotfire of the Zenith engine (Dec 2024), and proto-qualification testing of the Nova Stage 1. They have a NASA partnership to advance upper stage re-entry capabilities. They are actively recruiting for 49 open positions across engineering, operations, and software.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Full & Rapid Reusability**: Unlike competitors developing only partially reusable systems, Stoke is designing both stages to be fully and rapidly reusable from the ground up, which they claim will slash launch costs by 20x and atmospheric impact by 98%.
- **Unprecedented Speed**: The company prides itself on moving faster than any rocket company in history, from seed funding to engine testing and prototype launches in a few years. This is enabled by a small, elite team with extreme ownership and a vertically integrated manufacturing facility.
- **Vertically Integrated Manufacturing**: A 168,000 sq ft HQ in Kent, WA houses design, manufacturing, and assembly. This allows for rapid iteration cycles, with rocket engines, structures, and avionics built in days, not months.
- **Elite Team**: The company has attracted significant talent from SpaceX (34 former employees), Blue Origin (77), and Relativity Space (18), building a team with deep experience in reusable rocketry.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling Manufacturing**: The $860M Series D extension is specifically earmarked to scale manufacturing of the Nova launch vehicle to meet anticipated demand.
- **Operational Cadence**: The company is expanding its test facilities in Moses Lake, WA, and launch operations at Cape Canaveral, FL, aiming to establish a rapid launch cadence.
- **Government & Commercial Contracts**: Deepening partnerships with NASA and targeting U.S. Space Force contracts for national security launches, while also serving the commercial satellite market.
- **Sustainability**: A core focus on reducing the environmental impact of spaceflight, aiming to be a leader in sustainable space operations.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Work**: Employees are directly contributing to building the first fully reusable rocket, a historically significant engineering challenge.
- **Extreme Ownership & Impact**: The company emphasizes small teams where individuals have high autonomy and responsibility, leading to a greater impact than at larger aerospace firms.
- **Fast-Paced Culture**: Stoke values "grit," "integrity," and "doing the impossible." The culture is built for people who thrive on solving hard problems at an unprecedented speed.
- **Compensation & Benefits**: Offers competitive salary, stock options, 401(k) match, health insurance, paid parental leave, and paid time off.
- **Work Environment**: Flexible work environment with a dog-friendly office. The HQ is in the Pacific Northwest, near outdoor recreation. They have a "flexible work environment" policy.
- **Growth Opportunity**: With a 58% headcount increase and 49 open roles, there is significant opportunity for career growth and advancement as the company scales.

## Sources
1. [stokespace.com](https://www.stokespace.com/)
2. [stokespace.com/careers](https://www.stokespace.com/careers/)
3. [stokespace.com/team](https://www.stokespace.com/team/)
4. [linkedin.com/company/stoke-space](https://www.linkedin.com/company/stoke-space)
5. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/stokespacetechnologies](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/stokespacetechnologies)

## Other roles at Stoke Space 

- [Commercial Counsel](https://feeny.ai/job/commercial-counsel-stoke-space-kent-g9ynx1sfh6gc) — Kent, WA
- [Payroll Administrator / Accounting Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/payroll-administrator-accounting-specialist-stoke-space-kent-1g725jmv699d) — Kent, WA
- [Assembly Technician - Aft End](https://feeny.ai/job/assembly-technician-aft-end-stoke-space-kent-484a1dzg25px) — Kent, WA
- [Early Career Engineer, Nova](https://feeny.ai/job/early-career-engineer-nova-stoke-space-kent-kks62h03ss3w) — Kent, WA
- [System Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/system-architect-stoke-space-kent-s9p61q261scm) — Kent, WA
- [Design Reliability Engineer - System Safety](https://feeny.ai/job/design-reliability-engineer-system-safety-stoke-space-kent-3am4k8v0qd04) — Kent, WA
- [Flight Safety Analyst](https://feeny.ai/job/flight-safety-analyst-stoke-space-kent-mg9azk7q08kn) — Kent, WA
- [GNC Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/gnc-engineer-stoke-space-kent-pw967p1eanhr) — Kent, WA
- [Structures Fabricator (Sheet Metal)](https://feeny.ai/job/structures-fabricator-sheet-metal-stoke-space-kent-2x3vdaefcb0k) — Kent, WA
- [Summer 2027 Internship - Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-2027-internship-operations-stoke-space-kent-0t2a8yx5f1y7) — Kent, WA