Description

• Provide independent technical insight and assessment of spacecraft mechanical systems, mechanisms, and associated flight hardware.
• Evaluate spacecraft-provider mechanical designs, analyses, verification approaches, test programs, manufacturing considerations, and operational concepts to identify technical risks and support design-maturity assessments.
• Assess spacecraft mechanical systems throughout design, analysis, manufacturing, integration, qualification, testing, and operation.
• Evaluate spacecraft mechanisms and assemblies including hinges, latches, deployment systems, actuators, release and separation mechanisms, payload restraint systems, doors, hatches, docking or berthing interfaces, movable structures, and mechanical interfaces.
• Evaluate mechanism performance considerations including kinematics, loads, clearances, alignment, tolerance stack-ups, margins, interfaces, reliability, lifecycle capability, and credible failure modes.
• Perform independent engineering assessments of complex spacecraft mechanical systems to evaluate design assumptions, margins, technical risks, and proposed design changes.
• Review engineering analyses, test plans, test results, drawings, CAD models, interface definitions, requirements, verification evidence, and other technical products for adequacy.
• Perform targeted CAD-based assessments, including fit checks, volume and envelope evaluations, interface assessments, center-of-mass evaluations, tolerance considerations, and other rapid mechanical evaluations needed to provide technical insight.
• Prepare, manipulate, defeature, and export CAD geometry at appropriate levels of fidelity to support structural, thermal, fluid, contamination, and other integrated engineering analyses.
• Coordinate with structures and loads-and-dynamics engineers to evaluate mechanism loads, structural response, interfaces, and applicable launch and operational environments.
• Evaluate mechanism performance across relevant environments, including launch loads, vibration, shock, thermal extremes, vacuum, contamination, and other mission conditions.
• Support and independently assess mechanism qualification, acceptance, deployment, lifecycle, and environmental testing, including evaluation of test objectives, configurations, instrumentation, acceptance criteria, results, and anomalies.
• Assess whether analysis and testing adequately demonstrate mechanism functionality, performance, margin, reliability, and readiness for the intended flight application.
• Support technical investigations involving mechanical anomalies, failed or unexpected deployments, interface issues, design changes, nonconformances, test discrepancies, and other emerging technical issues.
• Work with the integrated engineering team to evaluate multidisciplinary interactions and determine how mechanical-system designs or changes may affect overall spacecraft and mission performance.
• Participate in technical interchange meetings, design reviews, test readiness reviews, test-result reviews, working groups, and other engineering forums with NASA, commercial partners, and other technical organizations.
• Clearly communicate technical findings, assumptions, risks, margins, recommendations, and supporting rationale to NASA customers and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Track multiple technical activities and independently prioritize work to support program needs and technical deadlines.
• Travel as needed to NASA centers, spacecraft-provider facilities, test facilities, and other program locations.

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline from an accredited university.
• Ten (10) or more years of relevant mechanical or aerospace engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience with mechanical systems, mechanisms, flight hardware, or complex mechanical assemblies.
• Strong understanding of mechanical engineering fundamentals, including loads, kinematics, mechanical interfaces, tolerance stack-ups, fasteners, bearings, actuators, structural behavior, and mechanical design practices.
• Experience evaluating mechanical designs, engineering analyses, drawings, CAD models, test results, and other technical products.
• Experience reviewing, manipulating, modifying, or developing mechanical models using Siemens NX, SolidWorks, or comparable CAD software.
• Experience supporting the development, integration, testing, or verification of complex aerospace hardware.
• Ability to independently evaluate complex engineering information, identify technical risks and questionable assumptions, and develop technically supported conclusions and recommendations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex mechanical issues to multidisciplinary engineering teams and program stakeholders.
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary environment and engage NASA, commercial partners, and other engineering organizations as technical peers.
• Ability to independently manage multiple technical tasks and priorities.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident Green Card Holder and successfully complete a U.S. government background investigation.
• Ability to work full-time onsite at Kennedy Space Center and travel as required.

• Direct engineering experience with spacecraft, launch vehicles, lunar landers, payloads, or other spaceflight hardware.
• Direct experience with spacecraft mechanisms including deployment mechanisms, latching systems, actuators, release or separation mechanisms, payload restraint or accommodation hardware, doors, hatches, docking or berthing interfaces, or other moving mechanical systems.
• Experience supporting the design, development, integration, qualification, acceptance testing, or operation of flight hardware.
• Experience evaluating mechanism kinematics, loads, lifecycle requirements, tolerance stack-ups, clearances, alignment, reliability, or failure modes.
• Knowledge of bearings, gears, motors, springs, dampers, lubrication, tribology, and other components commonly used in spacecraft mechanisms.
• Experience with mechanical environmental and functional testing, including vibration, shock, thermal-vacuum, deployment, lifecycle, qualification, or acceptance testing.
• Experience evaluating test configurations, instrumentation, performance criteria, anomalous results, and correlation between analytical predictions and hardware behavior.
• Experience with docking, berthing, payload accommodation, cargo handling, separation, or other spacecraft interface mechanisms.
• Proficiency with Siemens NX and/or SolidWorks.
• Familiarity with finite element analysis tools such as NASTRAN or comparable analysis software.
• Working knowledge of NASA design, analysis, requirements, verification, qualification, and flight-hardware development practices.
• Experience working in an engineering insight, independent assessment, customer technical oversight, or design-review capacity.
• Familiarity with applicable NASA mechanical, structural, mechanisms, and spacecraft design standards.
• Systems-engineering experience or demonstrated ability to evaluate mechanical hardware within a broader integrated spacecraft and transportation system.

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