---
title: 'SETA Engineering Development Program (3 Months - Path to Hire) at Space Kinetic'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/seta-engineering-development-program-3-months-path-to-hire-space-kinetic-el-aean3qsve9zn'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# SETA Engineering Development Program (3 Months - Path to Hire) at Space Kinetic

- **Company:** Space Kinetic
- **Location:** El Segundo, CA
- **Compensation:** $30–$42/hr
- **Posted:** 2026-05-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/spacekinetic/jobs/5217624008

## 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, attritable, 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.

Our Development Program:

This is a full-time, onsite program for three months at our headquarters in El Segundo, California.

Our Development Program is a pathway to a career at Space Kinetic. We hire recent graduates who are eager to solve cutting edge technical problems and contribute to high consequence dual use space missions. Interns become part of our core technical, operations, and business teams, work on mission-critical projects, and are evaluated for long-term career opportunities based on performance, initiative, collaboration, and ownership. Outstanding interns may receive a full-time employment offer before or upon completion of the program. Qualified participants relocating for the program may be eligible for a housing stipend, and applications are accepted year-round based on hiring needs.

Over the three-month program you are paired with a mentor, assigned one to three meaningful projects, and provide monthly progress updates to the Leadership team.

What You’ll Do: As a SETA Engineering team member to support technical research and engineering analysis efforts across mechanical systems, aerospace concepts, and astrodynamics-related projects. This role provides exposure to multidisciplinary aerospace development, including mechanical engineering support, technical research, mission analysis, and engineering coordination activities.

- Support mechanical and aerospace engineering research activities
- Perform highly analytical, parameter-driven analyses and develop white papers that clearly communicate findings, assumptions, methodologies, and technical recommendations.
- Help prepare engineering summaries, technical documentation, and presentation materials
- Support engineering coordination and follow-up across technical teams
- Assist with analysis of engineering data, system concepts, and design approaches
- Participate in technical discussions and engineering reviews
- Support rapid research tasks and problem-solving activities in a startup environment
- Support research into new mission and commercial applications by developing trade studies, pros and cons analyses, first-principles assessments, and early-stage simulations and models.

What It Takes:

- A Graduate of a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or Physics degree from an accredited college or university.
- Strong background in physics and mathematics
- Intermediate coding ability to support technical analysis, modeling, simulation, and data processing.

What We’d Love:

- Master's degree or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics or a related field. Compensation will be commensurate with experience, education, and demonstrated technical depth.
- Assist with astrodynamics analysis, technical trades, and concept evaluations
- Perform technical research related to spacecraft systems, orbital mechanics, and space mission applications
- Exposure to MATLAB, Python, STK, GMAT, or similar technical tools is a plus

Where You’ll Be:

- The position is onsite at our headquarters in El Segundo, CA.

Compensation:

This position is paid hourly based on the candidate’s highest completed degree at the time of hire:

- Bachelor’s degree: $30 per hour
- Master’s degree: $35 per hour
- PhD: $42 per hour

ITAR Requirements: To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant 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. 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 $30—$42 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)

## Other roles at Space Kinetic

- [Senior Optics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-optics-engineer-space-kinetic-el-segundo-qf3pfgr0rc5a) — El Segundo, CA
- [Structural Analysis Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/structural-analysis-engineer-space-kinetic-el-segundo-mb0zs3w89ptz) — El Segundo, CA
- [Senior Machine Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-machine-design-engineer-space-kinetic-el-segundo-1ej6f09kxdzb) — El Segundo, CA
- [Materials & Process (M&P) Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/materials-process-m-p-engineer-space-kinetic-el-segundo-1zcsbwssv3f8) — El Segundo, CA
- [Infrastructure & Systems Administrator](https://feeny.ai/job/infrastructure-systems-administrator-space-kinetic-el-segundo-kj4w0tg8t2rb) — El Segundo, CA
- [Senior Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-guidance-navigation-and-control-gnc-engineer-space-kinetic-el-segundo-qd67atxjt1gk) — El Segundo, CA
- [Payload Motor Controls and Power Electronics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/payload-motor-controls-and-power-electronics-engineer-space-kinetic-el-segundo-v30qb0z899hv) — El Segundo, CA
- [Project Engineering Development Program (3 Months - Path to Hire)](https://feeny.ai/job/project-engineering-development-program-3-months-path-to-hire-space-kinetic-el-sw7z8864w4gb) — El Segundo, CA
- [IT Development Program (3 Months - Path to Hire)](https://feeny.ai/job/it-development-program-3-months-path-to-hire-space-kinetic-el-segundo-bvscmg2j4861) — El Segundo, CA
- [HR Development Program (3 Months - Path to Hire)](https://feeny.ai/job/hr-development-program-3-months-path-to-hire-space-kinetic-el-segundo-z2yn4xyzp1ad) — El Segundo, CA