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Senior Dynamics Engineer

Playa Vista, California, United States

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth

Who We Are:

Eras of humanity can often be defined by a dominant transportation mode - horse-drawn chariots, ocean-going boats, or aircraft. These were spurred by a small group of people rigorously focused on building technology to achieve faster access to more of the world.  We seek to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth. To do this, we are building highly maneuverable re-entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth. 

What You’ll Do:

The Senior Dynamics Engineer will be the full-scope owner of spacecraft loads and dynamics analysis on Inversion’s Arc vehicle. This role will be the first dynamics and loads position for the Arc Reentry team and will be responsible for building and maintaining a Coupled Loads Analysis (CLA) vehicle model, developing random vibration models, creating and maintaining load indicators for vehicle trajectories, multibody dynamics analysis, and more. On a day-to-day basis, the senior dynamics engineer will be the responsible engineering owner of all top-level spacecraft loads and dynamics analysis, interfacing with all teams across the company including structures, avionics, GNC, and propulsion as the primary point of contact for loads and dynamics. The senior dynamics engineer will interface with individual hardware owners to enable them to build breakout analysis models of components and subassemblies. This is a unique opportunity to work on the early stages of a novel reentry vehicle, including defining vehicle architecture and creatively solving new design challenges. This role will have the ability to help shape and define the dynamics and loads department at the company.

Required Qualifications:

  • Minimum of bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related field OR equivalent experience

  • 8+ years of applicable experience

  • Experience building coupled loads analysis (CLA) models from scratch

  • Development of static equivalent loads for detailed analysis derived from CLA

  • Frequency-based generalized loads or mass acceleration curve (MAC) development from CLA

  • Development of vibration and shock test levels and durations to meet qualification and acceptance test requirements

  • Creation and tracking of trajectory-based loads and vehicle-level load indicators to ensure positive margins for key hardware components and interfaces

  • Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, including prototyping and rapid iteration of new products

  • Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills

  • This position is onsite at Inversion HQ in Playa Vista, CA.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Master’s degree or PhD in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related field

  • 10+ years of applicable experience

  • Prior experience in loads analysis and test of qualified space-flight hardware or human-rated spaceflight hardware

  • Multibody dynamics analysis experience, including separation and deployment analysis

  • Prior experience in a startup environment with a small, fast paced team

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $135,000 - 185,000 USD.  Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity. 

ITAR Compliance:
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.  
 
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.  
 
Inversion collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.  If you are a US Job Applicant see the CCPA Privacy Policy Notice for further details.

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