Staff Mechanical Engineer - Solar Mechanisms & Deployables

About the role

Muon seeks a Staff Mechanisms Design Engineer to own the design, qualification, and sustainment of the deployable and actuated mechanical systems that power our spacecraft: solar array deployables, solar array drive assemblies (SADA), hold-down and release mechanisms (HDRMs), hinges, dampers, and latches.

These are mission-critical, single-point-failure systems, and this role owns them from requirements definition through qualification and on-orbit operation.

As a foundational member of our new Solar & Deployables hardware group, the ideal candidate goes deep on requirements definition, mechanism design, analysis, prototyping, qualification, and transfer to production while collaborating across disciplines to deliver high-reliability solutions.

This position is hybrid and requires working on-site in our San Jose, CA office three days per week.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical owner for deployable and actuated mechanisms - SADA, HDRMs, hinges, dampers, and latches - setting architecture and design direction across missions
• Lead trades on deployable architectures and release-device technologies, making sound make vs. buy decisions that balance reliability, cost, and schedule
• Lead the design, analysis, and optimization of deployment mechanisms, actuators, and release devices, including torque/force margin, structural, kinematic, tribological, and dynamic analyses
• Own single-point-failure management for deployables, including margin, redundancy, and test-coverage strategy
• Own mechanism qualification campaigns, including deployment testing with gravity offload, lifecycle testing, and environmental test (random vibration, TVAC, shock)
• Define and champion mechanism design standards and best practices that scale across the organization
• Mentor mechanical engineers and lead rigorous design reviews (PDR, CDR, MRR)
• Drive mechanisms from prototype builds to constellation-scale production, applying lessons learned from builds, tests, and on-orbit operations

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical field
• 10+ years of experience designing, building, and testing mechanisms or deployable hardware, including 5+ within the space industry
• Deep expertise in one or more of: solar array deployables, SADA, HDRMs/release devices, hinges, dampers, or precision mechanisms
• Strong command of mechanism analysis: torque/force margin, kinematics, bearings/tribology, preload, and stiffness
• Proven track record of qualifying single-point-failure mechanisms, including deployment, life, and environmental testing
• Expert-level command of CAD (SolidWorks preferred), GD&T, drawings, BOMs, and tolerance/mass/torque budgets
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week

Nice-to-have Skills

• Flight heritage - deployable or actuated hardware you designed that has operated successfully in space
• Direct SADA design experience (motor/actuator selection, bearings, slip rings, power/signal transfer across a rotating joint)
• Experience qualifying mechanisms to NASA-STD-5017, ECSS, or equivalent mechanism standards
• Experience establishing engineering standards and best practices at an organizational level
• Experience managing external vendors and contract manufacturers for flight hardware

Salary

The salary range for this role is $190,000 - $216,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.

Muon is currently registered and able to hire in the following states

AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IA, ID, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA

ITAR/EAR Requirements

This position requires access to export controlled information.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency.

The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.