Stage Responsible Engineer (RE)
Kent, WAFull-time$151–393K/yrPosted 4 days agoStill listed 3 days ago
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At a glance
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Requirements
Credentials this posting asks for.
Job overview
The Stage Responsible Engineer owns a rocket stage across its full lifecycle, from conceptual design and trade studies through build, test, launch, reuse, and iteration. The role directs technical domains and leads the stage engineering team, with accountability for delivering a reliable stage to the integrated launch vehicle on time and on budget. The position is onsite in Kent, Washington.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
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 As a Stage RE you will be responsible for all aspects of your rocket stage. This includes managing and directing all associated technical domains including structures, avionics, propulsion, and fluid systems. You will be responsible for managing the team of engineers dedicated to your stage, coaching them, and growing them into an elite and unstoppable force. You will own the full life cycle from conceptual designs and trade studies, through design, build, test, launch, reuse, and block iteration. You will own the ultimate outcome of delivering your highly reliable stage to the integrated launch vehicle, on time, and on budget. You must be ready to stay focused, move fast, self-direct, and learn on the fly. Responsibilities
- Own the ultimate outcome of delivering a highly reliable rocket stage to the launch vehicle, on time, and on budget
- Set program direction with the goal of staying customer obsessed
- Navigate and execute complex design trades for your stage
- Track risks and execute appropriate mitigation plans
- Develop and maintain stage requirements and test plans
- Communicate clearly to contextualize your work across the entire company
- Coach and inspire your team members to perform at their highest potential
- Foster the Responsible Engineer (RE) Mentality – encouraging your team to demonstrate extreme ownership, excellent communication, and relentless pursuit of execution
- Grow and evolve your team as required and be actively involved in recruiting new talent
Qualifications
- Exceptional command of the fundamentals
- Broad experience across several engineering disciplines including mechanical, structural, avionics, propulsion, and fluid systems.
- Previous ownership as an individual contributor across the full life cycle of a part or system from concept, through development and qualification.
- Experience executing complex trade studies
- Experience writing and managing component and system level requirements
- Experience designing and planning test campaigns for complex systems
- Experience leading and inspiring a team of engineers to accomplish something great
- Experience hiring, coaching, and performance managing team members
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, physics, or a related field.
- 8+ years of experience in design, build, and test of complex components or systems.
- Willing to work onsite at our location in Kent, Washington
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 – 11 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 Target Levels:
- Level 4 Range: $151,305 - $252,105
- Level 5 Range: $176,505 - $327,810
- Level 6 Range: $262,185 - $393,435
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. (i.e., current Green Card holder), or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). 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, as noted above, 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 [email protected]. 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.
How this job compares
Set against the 11,502 open Systems Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 4, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$151–393K/yr
- Washington median$129–194K/yr298 salary ranges
- US median$116–190K/yr8,484 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $272K, is 69% above the Washington median midpoint ($162K) — in the top quarter of Systems Engineer salary ranges in Washington.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 357 open Systems Engineer jobs in Washington and 11,502 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Washington
- Amazon126 open
- PDS Defense12 open
- Shield AI12 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 8 years of experience; Systems Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (9,604 postings).
- Education
- This posting asks for a bachelor's degree; 4,559 of the 11,502 open Systems Engineer jobs (40%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 4, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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