Spacecraft Structural Engineer

NewOrbit
Reading, London
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeFunction: Construction, Civil & Site EngineeringExperience: 3+ yearsEducation: bachelorsSkills: ["FEM","Abaqus","ANSYS","NASTRAN","OptiStruct","DFM","Structural analysis","Test instrumentation","Accelerometers","Strain gauges","Design review","CAD drawing review"]

Join NewOrbit Space as a Structural Engineer supporting the design, analysis, testing, and qualification of flight hardware for VLEO satellites. You’ll work across the full development lifecycle—from structural modelling and design reviews to environmental testing and validation—collaborating with mechanical, thermal, propulsion, systems, and AIT teams to ensure robust structures that survive launch and sustained Ultra-Low Earth Orbit operations.

Loading

Loading job details...

Preparing the role view and application actions.

FursaFursa
NewOrbit
NewOrbit
4 months ago

Spacecraft Structural Engineer

✓ Verified Job

Canonical indexed version, validated from employer's careers page.

Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 6 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Join NewOrbit Space as a Structural Engineer supporting the design, analysis, testing, and qualification of flight hardware for VLEO satellites. You’ll work across the full development lifecycle—from structural modelling and design reviews to environmental testing and validation—collaborating with mechanical, thermal, propulsion, systems, and AIT teams to ensure robust structures that survive launch and sustained Ultra-Low Earth Orbit operations.
Location: Reading, London
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Construction, Civil & Site Engineering

Key Responsibilities

  • •Perform structural analysis of flight hardware including spacecraft structures, propulsion subsystems, and mechanical assemblies. This includes static, modal, random vibration, sine, shock, and quasi-static load cases.
  • •Develop and validate finite element models (FEM) for spacecraft and high-performance aerospace structures.
  • •Perform hand calculations for preliminary analysis in support of FEA.
  • •Support structural sizing, stiffness optimisation, and load path analysis for launch and in-orbit environments.
  • •Plan and execute vibration, shock, and structural qualification testing test campaigns end-to-end: write the test plan, instrument the hardware, interpret the data, correlate the model, and close out the qualification report.

Key Requirements

  • •B.S. or M.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering, or related field.
  • •3+ years of structural analysis experience on flight hardware (spacecraft/launch vehicles/high-performance structures).
  • •Experience with spacecraft structures and subsystems (electronic boxes, propulsion, hydraulics, solar panels).
  • •Hands-on FEM experience with ability to justify modelling assumptions; proficiency with NASTRAN/ANSYS/Abaqus (OptiStruct a plus).
  • •Familiarity with launch environments (random vibration PSDs, SRS shock spectra, quasi-static load factors) and environmental testing instrumentation.
Experience:3+ yearsAerospaceSpaceSatelliteLEOVLEOLaunch
Education:Bachelor's
Skills:FEMAbaqusANSYSNASTRANOptiStructDFMStructural analysisTest instrumentationAccelerometersStrain gaugesDesign reviewCAD drawing review
Tech Stack:OptiStructNASTRANANSYSAbaqusFEMDFM

Company Brief

NewOrbit
Develops and builds satellites and air-breathing electric propulsion systems to operate in ultra-low Earth orbits (180–250 km), enabling higher-resolution imagery, faster connectivity and sustainable debris-free missions.
Industry: Space Technology
Company Size: Small (11 to 50 employees)
Growth: Early Stage Startup
Funding: Seed
Headquarters: Reading, United Kingdom
Founded: 2021
Glassdoor
Glassdoor: 5.0
WebsiteLinkedInGlassdoor