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.