COPV Engineer II

About the Team:  

The Propulsion team at Relativity is focused on developing and delivering highly performant and manufacturable engines for Terran R. Engineers are responsible for the entire lifecycle of their parts, from initial design through production to qualification and flight. The team fosters a culture of bottoms-up decision-making, free from technical gatekeeping, where ownership and accountability are key at all levels. But designing engines with a quarter million pounds of thrust is just the beginning. As the flight configuration enters qualification, the team is now exploring modifications for future engines, including thrust upgrades, new cycles, and design for mass production.

About the Role: 

The COPV team is responsible for delivering the critical high-pressure gas storage vessels for Terran R. These pressure vessels store a variety of gases across a wide range of pressures and temperatures, making them some of the most demanding hardware on the vehicle.

These are not simple off-the-shelf components. The team works closely with partners across the company and throughout the supply chain to ensure performance can be achieved safely, reliably, and at scale. COPVs are notoriously difficult engineering problems, with design, manufacturing, and operational challenges that span multiple disciplines and require deep technical rigor and careful execution.

The product itself is deeply integrated with the rest of the vehicle, and the team maintains full ownership across design, production, test, and flight. You won’t simply execute predefined requirements; you’ll be expected to ask the right questions, collaborate across disciplines, and drive toward the best overall solution for Terran R.

You will be a part of developing the architecture for the Terran R vehicle and will be responsible for charting the company’s path for gas storage on a reusable rocket- both near-term and long-term.

Here are some examples of projects you could be working on:

• Partnering with third-party vendors in the design and analysis of gas storage COPVs
• Working with other thermo-fluid engineers on vehicle gas system design and operation
• Establishing test campaigns for the qualification and acceptance of COPVs Performing tests and reviewing data
• Supporting integration of COPVs on the rocket
• Supporting flight operations and reviewing flight data
• Performing tasks to select, develop, and qualify materials and process controls
• Selecting, vetting, and managing vendors
• Performing trade studies to improve gas storage solutions for the near future vehicles
• Assessing long-term COPV design and manufacturing plans

About You:  

• Undergraduate degree in engineering or a technical discipline
• 2+ years of relevant technical experience
• Understanding of pressure vessel engineering fundamentals
• Experience applying knowledge of fluid and mechanical system design and operation

Nice to haves, but not required:  

• Experience working with COPVs or other composite structures
• Experience in a creative and fast-paced development environment, working with autonomy
• Experience with CAD and FEA Experience with launch vehicle systems