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Mechanical Engineer

Dispatch

San Francisco, CAFull-timeSeen 1mo agoStill listed 2 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
No compensation found
Location
San Francisco, CA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

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Job overview

You will be the first mechanical engineer at Dispatch, leading structural design, mechanisms, and integration for reusable reentry vehicles. In this founding role you’ll handle analysis, CAD, hands‑on build, testing, and qualification to turn heat shields and avionics into a flying spacecraft.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Mechanical DesignCAD (SolidWorks)FEA (Femap)Hands‑on PrototypingReentry Vehicle ExperienceCapsule Structure KnowledgeRecovery System DesignRideshare Interface Standards (ESPA, Exolaunch)Thermal Protection System Integration

Qualifications

3+ Years Designing and Building Flight Hardware

Full job description

About The Role You'll be our first mechanical engineer for Dispatch’s reusable reentry vehicles designed for mass manufacturing and the person responsible for turning a heat shield and avionics stack into a flying spacecraft. This is a founding role - you'll own the structural design, mechanisms, and integration of our reentry vehicle from CAD to qualification testing to launch. At our stage, this means you're doing the analysis and the hands-on build. You'll work directly with both founders on a daily basis. Both founders are ex-Astranis - Andrew led the avionics team, Payton was chief engineer on their next-gen satellite line. Responsibilities

  • Design the primary vehicle structure (load paths, interfaces, payload volume)

  • Own mechanical systems: deployment mechanisms, recovery/parachute systems, payload integration hardware

  • Run structural analysis (FEA) for launch and reentry load environments

  • Produce engineering drawings with GD&T for fabricated and machined parts

  • Build and test prototype hardware

  • Support environmental qualification testing (vibration, thermal vacuum) Required Qualifications

  • 3+ years designing and building flight hardware (spacecraft, launch vehicles, hypersonics, or missiles)

  • Strong mechanical design skills: structures, mechanisms, packaging in constrained volumes

  • Proficiency in CAD (SOLIDWORKS or similar) and FEA tools (Femap or similar)

  • Hands-on prototyping experience - you've machined, assembled, and tested your own designs

  • Comfortable working across disciplines at an early-stage company Nice to Have

  • Experience with reentry vehicles, capsule structures, or high-load environments

  • Recovery system design (parachutes, airbags, flotation)

  • Familiarity with rideshare mechanical interface standards (ESPA, Exolaunch deployers)

  • Thermal protection system integration experience

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