Full-Time
Mechanical Engineer
Spacecraft Components and Systems
Muon Space
201-500 employees
End-to-end satellite constellations design and operation
Compensation Overview
$144k - $177k/yr
San Jose, CA, USA
Hybrid
Three days on-site per week in San Jose, CA.
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
 Mechanical Engineering (1) |
|---|
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- 5 years of experience designing, building, and testing flight hardware in the space industry (or similar: aerospace, autonomous vehicles, robotics, etc.)
- B.S. or higher degree in Mechanical Engineering
- Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks preferred) for component and assembly design
- Experience with engineering drawings, GD&T, BOMs, and ECO processes
- Demonstrated experience executing structural or environmental tests and documenting results
- Hands-on experience supporting hardware builds and integration activities
- Strong documentation skills: ability to author clear build procedures, test plans, and technical reports
- Excellent communication, presentation, and cross-functional coordination skills
- A desire to change the way the world understands and reacts to climate and environmental data
- Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new opportunities each week
- Create, review, and refine spacecraft component and subsystem mechanical designs in a modern CAD package (SolidWorks), managing small-to-medium assemblies
- Develop clean-sheet mechanical and structural designs through detailed design, consistent with the risk posture, development velocity, and deployment schedules at Muon
- Create quick concepts to drive early-phase discussions and inspire the team
- Influence flight designs to ensure hardware is optimized for manufacturability, assembly, and testability
- Make economically sound make vs. buy decisions, balancing the need to quickly demonstrate capability while understanding the path to scaled-up constellations
- Perform stress and dynamic analyses (hand calculations, simple FEM) to support and inform structural designs, including joint design, fastener sizing, and stiffness analyses
- Collaborate with structural and thermal analysts to iterate designs for performance and manufacturability
- Conduct trade studies to evaluate design alternatives and document recommendations
- Support mass budget tracking and tolerance stack-up analyses for mechanical assemblies
- Create and maintain build procedures, assembly instructions, and work orders for mechanical hardware
- Support and oversee technicians during assembly and integration of mechanical components and subsystems
- Identify and resolve fit, form, and function issues during hardware builds
- Drive designs toward producibility, considering prototype through production quantity needs
- Conduct first article inspections (FAIs) and document non-conformances; participate in MRB as needed
- Design test fixtures and GSE to support development, qualification, and acceptance testing
- Develop component and subsystem-level test plans and procedures for environmental testing (vibration, shock, TVAC)
- Specify and integrate test instrumentation (accelerometers, strain gauges, thermocouples, etc.)
- Execute and support environmental test campaigns; collect, reduce, and analyze test data
- Document test results and correlate with analysis predictions; recommend design updates as needed
- Create and maintain engineering drawings with proper GD&T, BOMs, and revision control
- Author and maintain design documentation including trade studies, interface control documents (ICDs), and design rationale
- Execute ECOs/DCOs and maintain configuration control through PLM systems
- Document lessons learned from builds and tests to inform future designs
- Own delivery of mechanical items and subsystems, coordinating with analysts, avionics, program, thermal, optical, and RF engineers
- Manage development of mechanical/structural architectures through detailed design in collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders
- Coordinate with external vendors for part prototyping and development; review vendor deliverables for compliance with requirements
- Present design status, trade studies, and test results at design reviews
- Experience with deployable structures (solar arrays, antennas, mechanisms) or SADA mechanisms
- Experience running structural analyses for spacecraft (FEMAP, ANSYS, Nastran)
- Experience with thermal management systems for spacecraft
- Experience designing and executing qualification-level environmental tests (vibration, TVAC, shock)
- Large assembly management in SolidWorks PDM; experience with PLM systems (Duro or similar)
- Optomechanical instrument or payload design
- Experience with composite materials and bonded assemblies
- Experience managing external vendors for part prototyping and development
- Software skills in Python, MATLAB, or similar for data analysis and automation
- Familiarity with FAI processes, non-conformance reporting, and MRB activities
- Google Workspace proficiency (Sheets, Slides, Docs); Slack
What Muon Space does: It plans, builds, and runs satellite constellations to deliver Earth intelligence that helps protect people, climate, and ecosystems. How its product works: It offers end-to-end space systems as a service—creating mission strategies, deploying constellations, and operating them through its proprietary AI automation system. Revenue model and delivery: Customers pay transparently on a pay-as-you-go basis for the development, deployment, operation of the satellites, and the data generated. How it differs from competitors: It combines full lifecycle space systems with an AI-driven operations stack, offers flexible pay-as-you-go pricing, and relies on a team with deep experience from NASA, Google, and SpaceX to focus on solving client missions rather than selling hardware. The company’s goal: provide actionable Earth intelligence to improve climate protection, security, and resource management while reducing costs and speeding up access to space.
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
Series C
Total Funding
$441.2M
Headquarters
Mountain View, California
Founded
2021
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- August 20, 2026 Series C raised $250 million, valuing Muon at $1.5 billion.
- NOAA awarded Muon $11 million on August 2026 for microwave sounding instruments.
- Muon deployed seven satellites in early 2026 and launched FireSat's first three operational satellites.
What critics are saying
- Muon must scale San Jose to 500 satellites yearly by 2027 without launch slippage.
- Reuters said Muon relies on launch contracts through 2029 and seeks non-SpaceX capacity.
- A propulsion or contamination failure would cripple FireSat, Starlight, and Muon's constellation factory narrative.
What makes Muon Space unique
- Muon builds, launches, and operates satellites end-to-end through its Mission Foundry platform.
- On September 10, 2026, Muon fired the first zinc-fueled Hall thruster in space.
- Muon combines climate, defense, and NOAA weather missions across one standardized satellite stack.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
Company Equity
Paid Vacation
Paid Holidays
Paid Sick Leave
Parental Leave
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -2%1 year growth
↓ -2%2 year growth
↑ 0%Muon Space has successfully fired the world's first zinc-fueled Hall-effect thruster in space. The burn took place on 1 July 2026 aboard SERT-III, a propulsion test spacecraft the company designed, built, and launched in under a year. The Starlight thruster uses solid zinc as propellant instead of traditional xenon or krypton gases. Zinc is abundant, inexpensive, non-toxic, and solid at room temperature, eliminating pressurised tanks and simplifying spacecraft integration. The inaugural firing succeeded on the first attempt. In-orbit telemetry matched ground test predictions, and orbital tracking confirmed thrust generation. Contamination measurements showed zinc deposition below pre-mission model predictions. Muon plans to deploy the current Starlight thruster on customer missions before the end of 2026. A second-generation system targeting larger spacecraft is scheduled for orbital testing in Q1 2027.
NOAA taps Muon Space, Weather Stream & Spire Global for microwave sounder Program. * NOAA awarded $46.5 million to Muon Space, Weather Stream and Spire Global * The companies will develop, launch and operate microwave sounding instruments * Microwave sounders collect atmospheric temperature, moisture and pressure data The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded $46.5 million to three companies to develop satellite instruments designed to provide atmospheric data for weather forecasting and extreme weather prediction, the agency announced Wednesday. Table of Contents Which companies received NOAA awards? Muon Space received $11 million, Orbital Micro Systems, doing business as Weather Stream, received $7.5 million and Spire Global Subsidiary received $28 million under the Temperature and Moisture Advanced Technology Evolution project. The 24-month effort, which began Aug. 25, is part of NOAA's Near Earth Orbit Network Program. The companies will each develop, launch and operate a microwave sounding instrument, with NOAA able to purchase the resulting data commercially. What are microwave sounders? Microwave sounders are satellite-based remote sensing tools designed to detect naturally occurring microwave emissions from molecules in the atmosphere. Data collected can be used to map atmospheric temperature, water vapor and pressure at different altitudes. Because microwave signals can pass through clouds, the instruments can gather observations when other sensors may be obstructed. How will NOAA use commercial partnerships? NOAA is using its other transaction authority to work with industry on developing future sources of weather data. The agency said the authority allows it to partner with companies to mature technology. The agency has also been working to bring public and private data sources into its forecasting environment. In March, NOAA awarded contracts to develop cloud-based environments capable of integrating data from both government and commercial sources. The microwave sounder awards are part of NOAA's work to develop a low-Earth orbit satellite architecture that relies on commercial partners and more frequent launches of small- to medium-sized satellites. The approach is intended to create a more resilient constellation that can be deployed quickly for weather forecasting and disaster management. The satellite effort adds to NOAA's broader push to modernize its weather-forecasting infrastructure through commercial technology. In July, the agency began moving its Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System to commercial cloud infrastructure, with Google Cloud serving as the primary provider.
Muon Space Series C pushes total equity funding past $386M. * Google, Salesforce Ventures and Wellington Management joined the round * Total equity funding has exceeded $386 million * A new San Jose plant is designed for up to 500 satellites a year by 2027 Muon Space has closed a $250 million Series C round, bringing total equity funding past $386 million. Eclipse led the financing, the satellite company said Thursday. Google, Salesforce Ventures, Wellington Management, Galvanize, I Squared Capital and Woven Capital joined as new investors, alongside returning backers, including Radical Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Activate Capital, ACME Capital, ArcTern Ventures and Overlap Holdings. Muon said the round was oversubscribed. What will Muon Space do with the Series C proceeds? The production of large-scale constellations and the expansion of the company's dual-use spacecraft platforms are the stated priorities. Muon also pointed to advanced payloads, on-orbit AI compute and high-bandwidth satellite connectivity developed with SpaceX Starlink. Jonny Dyer, CEO of Muon Space, said the company built its model to let customers field complete constellation systems in months rather than years. Lior Susan, founder and CEO of Eclipse, said Muon has combined mission design, manufacturing, launch and operations into one platform. What defense and intelligence work does Muon Space hold? Space Systems Command awarded Muon a $44.6 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase III other transaction agreement in October to build a three-satellite prototype demonstrating space-based environmental monitoring for the Department of War. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council identified cloud characterization and theater weather imagery as the mission's top priorities. The National Reconnaissance Office awarded the company a Stage II contract in May 2025 under its Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad Agency Announcement Framework, covering multispectral electro-optical and infrared data and demonstration work. Muon was among five companies picked in December 2023 to supply commercial electro-optical capabilities under the NRO's Electro-Optical Commercial Layer program. How much manufacturing capacity does Muon Space have? An advanced manufacturing plant that recently opened in San Jose, California, is designed to produce up to 500 satellites per year by 2027, a tenfold increase over its previous capacity. More than 50 satellites are in development for customers, with 13 manifested for launch over the coming year. Seven satellites went up in the first half of 2026, bringing the company to 11 deployed over six launches. Muon reported a 100 percent mission success rate. Two customer constellations enter operation this year: Vindlér 2.0, an RF data and analytics system for SNC, and FireSat, a wildfire-monitoring constellation built with Earth Fire Alliance and Google.
Satellite maker Muon Space valued at $1.5 billion, source says Prathik Jayaprakash
Muon Space raises $250 million to mass-produce satellites. 20 August 2026 Key Takeaways * Muon Space closed a $250M Series C, led by Eclipse Capital with Google and Salesforce backing, to ramp satellite production. * A new facility in San Jose of about 130,000 sq ft was built to produce 500 satellites every year by 2027. * 11 Muon satellites are already at play, running defense operations including FireSat wildfire detection. When you need thousands of satellites for climate monitoring, defense, and real-time data, you also need a different model. If you leave the job to an engineer, there's no telling how much time will stretch. Muon Space raises $250 million to deliver a model that will ramp up satellite production and treat space infrastructure like cloud infrastructure. This means that procurement cycles won't take up to 18 months. A mission Foundry for standardized satellites. Instead of building one-off spacecraft, Muon built a factory model. The California start-up calls it a "Mission Foundry." This includes standardized, high-performance satellite platforms that can be reconfigured for different jobs. The same core hardware can run climate science, defense intelligence, and commercial Earth observation without redesigning. All it takes is swapping the software and payload. To deliver on that promise, Muon opened a 130,000-square-foot facility located in San Jose. It's automated and built for volume. The target is 500 satellites every year by 2027. That's a tenfold jump from their previous capacity. The $250 million oversubscribed Series C will fund it. The round was led by Eclipse Capital with strategic investment from Google, Salesforce Ventures, Galvanize, and Wellington Management. Total equity funding now tops $386 million. Muon has 11 satellites in orbit and paying customers. Investors aren't betting on slides. To date, Muon has put 11 satellites into orbit across 6 missions without a single failure. That hardware is live on real networks today. FireSat is the headline project. Built with Google Research and the Earth Fire Alliance, the constellation is designed to detect wildfires when they're still the size of a classroom. The goal is early alerts before fires spread. Muon's hardware is now part of national security infrastructure. The company holds multi-million dollar contracts with the U.S. Space Force and the Missile Defense Agency for dual-use platforms that cover both environmental monitoring and defense. The new capital also pushes two upgrades. The funding also targets two bottlenecks. First, on-orbit AI so satellites analyze imagery instantly in space. Second, SpaceX Starlink connectivity to stream high-bandwidth data in real time with minimal latency. Muon: from science project to infrastructure. Space isn't a lab experiment anymore. It's plumbing for the modern economy for weather data, defense, connectivity, and climate. The start-up says nobody can run that on bespoke hardware. You need volume, reliability, and fast iteration. That's what an assembly line buys you. With the new factory and funding, Muon is trying to become the AWS of space: standardized platforms, deployed at scale, and updated constantly. Space infrastructure won't be built one satellite at a time, it will be built hundreds at a time, on a production line. Muon is betting it can be the first to do that at scale. I'm a crypto writer with 4+ years of experience passionate about turning big, technical ideas into content anyone can understand. From blockchain to stablecoins to everything in between, I enjoy helping readers stay informed in a space that never stops moving. Disclaimer VentureBurn is a media platform covering the latest in cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, venture capital, and the startup ecosystem. Opinions expressed on VentureBurn are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice. Before making any high-risk investments in digital assets or emerging technologies, readers should conduct their own due diligence. All transactions and financial decisions are made at your own risk, and any losses incurred are solely your responsibility. VentureBurn does not endorse or recommend the buying or selling of any digital assets and is not a licensed investment advisor. Please note that VentureBurn may participate in affiliate marketing programs.