Senior Mechanical Engineer

Sr. Mechanical Engineer

Location: Playa Vista California (in-person five days per week) 

Launch has changed the economics of space. Now it is time to return. 

Outpost is building the missing infrastructure between orbit and Earth: reusable vehicles that can bring payloads back from space and deliver them to a precise location within hours. We call it exologistics space-to-Earth logistics at planetary scale. This is not a paper concept or a distant roadmap. Our system is in active development with core technologies advancing toward flight readiness. 

The need is already here and the market has responded. We have validated demand through multiple defense and civil agreements and a growing pipeline across government and commercial customers.  

Outpost is building the logistics layer that makes space economically useful in a new way: the ability to move material from orbit to Earth quickly reliably and affordably. Over time that supports point-to-point logistics 10 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth in an hour. It also creates the foundation for a reusable reentry network and enables new categories of space activity including in-space manufacturing supporting AI data centers advanced manufacturing and novel materials. 

We have a strong foundation clear demand and a technical path in front of us. Now the company is scaling rapidly. We are expanding the team growing our operational footprint and building the systems needed to execute at the next level. This is a chance to join a company with real traction working on a problem that matters at the point where execution and scale begin to define the outcome.

The Role 

The Sr. Mechanical Engineer will serve as the technical authority for the primary and secondary structures of Outpost’s Carryall. This is a role for a veteran structural engineer who has expertise on full-scale flight vehicles whether launch vehicles satellites or re-entry capsules. Unlike traditional space vehicle roles where the structure simply needs to survive launch you are designing for the round trip: launch vibration the harsh vacuum of orbit and the extreme thermal and mechanical loads of hypersonic re-entry and landing. You will own the structural architecture of the vehicle moving rapidly from trade studies to detailed analysis and finally to hands-on integration. We need someone with the deep intuition that comes from 15+ years of seeing hardware fly (and fail). 

Responsibilities 

• Structural Architect: Lead the mechanical design of the entire vehicle structure including primary structure interfaces to the deployable heatshield secondary structures and payload bay
• High-Fidelity Analysis: Perform and sign off on detailed hand calculations and Finite Element Analysis (ANSYS/FEMAP/NASTRAN). You will be the final check on stiffness buckling and thermal expansion compatibility.
• Drawing & GD&T: Create and approve high-quality manufacturing drawings with appropriate geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (ASME Y14.5) to ensure parts fit the first time.
• Build & Test Leadership: "Get your hands dirty" leading the assembly of your designs. Own the structural test campaign (static load random vibration shock and deployment testing) to qualify hardware for flight.
• Vendor & Partner Management: Work directly with machine shops composite vendors and external partners to resolve fabrication conflicts and ensure on-time delivery of precision parts.
• Mentorship: Elevate the team's standard of engineering rigor. Mentor junior engineers in design best practices analysis methods and First Principles thinking. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Mechanical Aerospace or Structural Engineering.
• 10+ years of experience minimum (15+ preferred) in the design and analysis of complex aerospace structures and mechanisms.
• Full-Vehicle Heritage: Proven track record working on full space vehicles or rockets (not just subsystems). You should have experience taking a primary structure from concept through PDR/CDR to flight.
• CAD Proficiency: Expert-level skill in Siemens NX SolidWorks or similar parametric modeling software.
• Analysis Expertise: Deep background in structural analysis (FEA) and classical hand calculations. You must trust your hand calcs before you trust the solver.
• Materials Knowledge: Extensive understanding of aerospace materials (aluminum titanium Inconel composites) and their behavior in extreme thermal environments.
• Manufacturing Fluency: You understand the limits of manufacturing CNC machining sheet metal welding and composite layup and you design for them. 

Preferred Experience 

• Active U.S. Government Security Clearance (Not required but beneficial)
• Experience with deployable space structures and mechanisms (booms solar arrays antennas or aerobrakes).
• Experience designing for high-heat environments or integrating with Thermal Protection Systems (TPS).
• Proficiency in scripting (Python/MATLAB) for design automation or data post-processing.
• Deep knowledge of aerospace standards (NASA-STD-5000 series SMC-S-016) for structural margins and testing. 

Compensation & Benefits 

• $160000 – $210000; Salary may vary with experience
• Incentive Stock Options
• Annual Performance-Based Bonus
• Medical Dental and Vision Insurance
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• PTO
• 401k with Company match
• Subsidized daily catered lunch snacks and coffee 

What We Do

We’re developing reusable vehicles that bring payloads home from orbit safely and precisely enabling faster in-space manufacturing global delivery and entirely new capabilities in the space economy.

Why Work With Us

We’re a mission-driven team that moves with urgency and cares deeply about the work and the people doing it. We are scaling. That means ownership from day one. You will not be a small cog in a massive program. You will design hardware test it iterate it and watch it move toward flight.

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