Team and Role Overview:

At Relativity, we re-imagine the way rockets are built and flown. We are looking for a Senior Vehicle Loads Engineer to help us achieve our ambitious goal of launching a 3D printed rocket. You will report directly to the Director of Vehicle Engineering.

The Mission/Outcomes and Objectives:

To support our mission of changing people’s conception of the way rockets are built and flown, you will develop detailed mathematical models for launch vehicle loads and environments. You will work closely with a multidisciplinary vehicle engineering team, iterating on loads and environments predictions as the vehicle design evolves. Additionally, you will support ground and flight tests, including defining test plans, pre-test predictions, oversight, data processing and updating/correlating models.

The projects you’ll be responsible for could include any or all of the following:

- Develop full-vehicle finite element models for loads and environments predictions

- Vehicle level dynamic analysis, including: modal, transient, harmonic, random vibration, acoustic, shock, rigid and flexible body dynamics

- Generate vehicle design loads, component loads and interface loads to be used for detailed design

- Down select and identify critical combined load cases for each phase of the mission

- Perform coupled loads analysis of the launch vehicle and payloads

- Define fatigue spectra

- Support ground and flight tests, process test data and update models and predictions

Candidate Profile

In order to be successful in this role, you should be someone who thrives in ambiguity and is able to lead their own projects into completion. Ideally, you are someone who has come from a fast paced, aerospace environment, having completed difficult projects while collaborating effectively with other key groups. 

Minimum Required Skills and Competencies

• An undergraduate or graduate degree (BS/MS/PhD) in engineering or related field and 5+ years relevant experience
• Expert in detailed loads analysis for launch vehicles, spacecraft, or aircraft
• Proficient in building complex finite element models at the vehicle or system level using Nastran, Ansys, Abaqus or similar
• Experience solving a variety of complex structural problems on orbital launch vehicles or similar
• Solid foundation in structural fundamentals: static, dynamic, and vibroacoustic

Preferred Skills and Competencies

• Graduate degree (MS/PhD) in engineering or related field and 10+ years relevant experience
• Python, Matlab, or Fortran proficiency
• Experience with aerodynamics: transonic, supersonic
• Hands-on experience with structural testing and instrumentation: static, modal, vibration

This position must meet Export Control compliance requirements, therefore a United States Person as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 is required.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.