About the Role

Apex is seeking a Propulsion Engineer with experience in structures and hardware integration to design the propulsion modules that bolt onto Apex spacecraft at scale. You will own mechanical designs across the module, including the structure, mounting and installation of flow controllers, PPUs, and thrusters, and the packaging that turns a set of components into a single, buildable, flight-ready assembly.

What makes this role distinctive is that the propulsion components you're integrating are designed and built in-house at Apex. You'll work directly with the engineers who own our thrusters, cathodes, flow controllers, and PPUs, helping shape their mechanical, thermal, and interface design so the components and module are optimized together from the start.

You'll also work closely with our manufacturing team throughout the design cycle, supporting first builds and incorporating feedback from the production floor as we scale. This role offers significant hands-on design ownership and the opportunity to take hardware from concept through build, test, and production.

Responsibilities:

• Own mechanical designs for propulsion modules, including module structures, mounting interfaces, and the installation of flow controllers, PPUs, thrusters, and other propulsion hardware.

• Design module structures to meet vehicle-level structural and environmental requirements, including launch loads, vibration, shock, and thermal environments, while conforming to vehicle ICDs.

• Define mechanical, thermal, and structural interfaces between propulsion components and the module, and between the module and spacecraft.

• Partner with Apex's in-house thruster, cathode, flow controller, and PPU teams to optimize component mounting, packaging, and interfaces.

• Perform structural analysis, including hand calculations and FEA, to verify strength, stiffness, and margins.

• Design against mass, cost, and power budgets and support engineering trades across competing requirements.

• Design for manufacturing and assembly to ensure modules are buildable, repeatable, and installable at rate.

• Work directly with manufacturing and production teams during first builds and resolve design and integration issues on the floor.

• Incorporate manufacturing feedback into design iterations to improve producibility, yield, and build time.

• Create and own component and assembly drawings, tolerance stack-ups, fastening and torque specifications, and installation work instructions.

• Support the build, integration, and test of flight hardware and contribute to anomaly resolution and root-cause investigations.

• Contribute to continuous design improvements across module generations as production scales.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering field.

• 3+ years of relevant mechanical or aerospace engineering experience, with experience in structural design and hardware installation/integration.

• Strong understanding of structural design and analysis, including load paths, strength and stiffness, fasteners and joints, tolerance stack-ups, hand calculations, and FEA.

• Experience designing aerospace or other complex hardware to structural and environmental requirements, including vibration, shock, and thermal environments.

• Experience integrating discrete components, such as propulsion, avionics, fluidic, or other hardware, into structural assemblies.

• Proficiency with CAD, engineering drawings, and GD&T, with experience taking designs through release, build, and test.

• Experience working with manufacturing or production teams to transition designs into hardware and resolve build and integration issues.

• Ability to make sound engineering trades across performance, mass, cost, manufacturability, and schedule.

• Ability to communicate clearly and work cross-functionally across engineering, manufacturing, and production teams.

• Must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual) as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.15).

Nice to Have:

• Direct experience with spacecraft propulsion modules, feed systems, or propulsion component integration.

• Experience designing spacecraft or aerospace hardware for serial or high-rate production, including design-for-manufacturing and design-for-assembly.

• Familiarity with electric propulsion components, including thrusters, flow controllers, PPUs, and their mechanical, thermal, fluidic, and electrical interfaces.

• Experience with propellant feed-system routing, fluidic components, and cleanliness/contamination control.

• Experience collaborating with component design teams to optimize hardware and system-level integration.

• Experience supporting environmental qualification testing, including vibration, shock, and TVAC.

• Experience supporting flight hardware through integration, qualification, launch, and/or on-orbit operations.

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What We Offer For Full-time Employees:

• Shared upside: Receive equity in Apex, letting you benefit from the work you create