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Early Career Engineer, Nova

Kent, Washington

At Stoke, we believe a thriving space economy will enable a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable future here on Earth. That is why we’re building Nova, our fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicle. Designed for daily flight, Nova tackles the core challenges of space transportation by reducing cost, increasing availability, and improving reliability. By radically lowering launch costs and increasing flight cadence, we’re helping create a truly scalable space industry.

Our team is mission-driven, collaborative, and empowered to take ownership of their work. If you want to work alongside some of the most dedicated and talented people on Earth, we’d love to have you join us.

Description

We are looking for an early-career engineer who is excited to design, build, test, and improve complex hardware for Nova.

We care less about where you gained your experience and more about what you've built. Maybe you spent your weekends building a race car, designed and launched a rocket with your university team, machined your own parts, rebuilt an engine, or designed and fabricated a mechanism for a personal project. If you can explain what you built, why you made the decisions you did, what went wrong, and how you fixed it, we want to hear from you.

What you'll get out of it

You’ll be challenged every day, working on problems that will push you to learn faster and grow as an engineer. You’ll work alongside some of the best engineers in the industry, get your hands on real hardware, and have the opportunity to see your ideas go from concept to flight.

If that energizes you, this is the role for you.

Responsibilities

  • Design, build, test, and iterate on mechanical hardware for Nova
  • Turn concepts into physical hardware by creating CAD models, engineering drawings, prototypes, and production-ready designs
  • Take ownership of individual components or projects and drive them from initial concept through design, fabrication, assembly, and testing
  • Work directly with manufacturing teams, technicians, and other engineers to fabricate, assemble, and improve hardware
  • Get hands-on with hardware during assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and modification
  • Investigate hardware problems, identify root causes, and develop practical solutions
  • Make design decisions that balance performance, manufacturability, reliability, cost, and schedule
  • Use test results and observations from hardware to inform design decisions and rapidly improve designs
  • Collaborate with engineers across disciplines to solve complex problems and integrate mechanical systems
  • Document designs, test results, and engineering decisions clearly

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
  • Strong foundation in mechanical engineering fundamentals, including mechanics, materials, and basic mechanical design
  • Demonstrated experience designing, building, modifying, or testing mechanical hardware
  • Experience using 3D CAD software through coursework, internships, student teams, or personal projects
  • Familiarity with engineering drawings and communicating design intent
  • Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills
  • Ability to work effectively in a hands-on engineering and manufacturing environment
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills
  • Demonstrated curiosity and willingness to learn new tools, technologies, and engineering disciplines

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience taking a design from concept through CAD, fabrication, assembly, and testing
  • A personal, academic, or professional project that demonstrates strong mechanical aptitude and a passion for building things
  • Experience with machining, welding, sheet metal, additive manufacturing, or other fabrication processes
  • Experience with rocketry, Formula SAE, robotics, UAVs, motorsports, or other hands-on engineering projects
  • Familiarity with GD&T, tolerance analysis, or basic engineering analysis
  • Experience troubleshooting mechanical or electromechanical hardware
  • Experience with NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or other 3D CAD software
  • Experience working with technicians, machinists, or manufacturing teams

Benefits

  • Equity – We know that our employees are the reason we succeed. To give everyone a stake in our future, we are pleased to offer equity in the form of stock options to all regular, full-time employees. 
  • Comprehensive benefits program including subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance 
  • Company-paid life and disability insurance 
  • 401(k) plan with employer match 
  • 4 weeks’ Paid Time Off  
  • Holidays – 10 days (including an end-of-year closure) 
  • Paid Family/Parental Leave  
  • On-site gym or monthly wellness stipend (depending on location) 
  • Dog friendly offices! 

Compensation

$95,550 - $120,645

Our job posts are intentionally written to attract a wide variety of experience levels, and we make decisions about the right fit on a per-candidate basis. 

Your actual level and base salary will be decided based on your specific experience and skill level.

ITAR Requirements

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.

Equal Opportunity 

The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including with respect to disability and veteran status.  It is committed to compliance with all equal opportunity laws, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title VII.   It does not discriminate on the basis of nationality, race, citizenship, immigration status, or any other protected class when it comes to employment practices, including hiring. 

Employment at the Company is contingent upon satisfactory completion of reference and background checks, and on your ability to prove your identity and authorization to work in the U.S. for the Company.  Employees must comply with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services employment verification requirements, and, therefore, they must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 at the start of employment and re-verify authorization to work periodically.

Separate from this I-9 process, this position entails access to certain technology and technical data that is restricted under U.S. export control laws and regulations.  Employment or continued employment may be conditioned on your legal authorization to work with or have access to export control materials as necessary to perform your job.

Candidate Rights & Accommodations

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete the application or participate in the interview process, please contact careers@stokespace.com. Requests will be handled in accordance with applicable laws. Please do not include medical or other confidential information in your initial request.

For more information about your rights, please refer to the "Know Your Rights" notice here. 

E-Verify

Stoke Space uses E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires. 

For more information on the right to work, please refer to the poster here. 

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