Senior Mechanical Engineer (Accurate Landing)

United StatesOn-site

Responsibilities

Design and develop mechanical systems and mechanisms that enable the accurate and precise landing of our next-generation reentry vehicle. •
Lead the development of mechanisms for parachute deployment, control actuation, and drop test structures from cradle to grave. •
Test high-performance accurate landing and recovery systems through aerial drop test campaigns. •
Support prototype design, hands-on integration, fit checks, and issue resolution during build. •
Drive design trades across performance, manufacturability, schedule, and cost. •

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience. •
experience developing mechanical systems, structures, and aerospace vehicles or equivalently complicated mechanical assemblies. •
Experience using Siemens NX or similar CAD software. •
Familiarity with FEA software packages such as ANSYS Mechanical, NASTRAN, FEMAP, or similar •
Experience taking hardware from concept through fabrication, assembly, and integration. •
Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment. Desired
Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience. •
Experience with spacecraft, launch, reentry, hypersonic, or other high-performance aerospace systems. •
Demonstrated history of mechanical design product ownership from cradle to grave. • Prior
experience in the design and test of qualified space-flight hardware. •
Experience supporting prototype builds and rapid design iteration in a hardware-rich environment. • Prior
experience working in startups and/or small independent teams.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $137,000-$193,000.
Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth
Inversion builds advanced reentry systems to deliver next-generation capabilities from space.
Our mission is to make Earth radically more accessible by turning Low-Earth Orbit into an on-demand logistics domain.
We see space not as a destination, but as a platform — one that unlocks unprecedented speed and global reach.
Our spacecraft are designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth in under an hour, operating through extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision.
These systems open the door to new ways of testing, delivering, and operating at hypersonic speeds.
Inherently dual-use, our technology is built to meet urgent national security needs while laying the groundwork for future commercial applications.
Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working with partners such as the U.S.
Space Force and NASA, Inversion is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space-based defense and logistics. What You’ll Do:
As a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer at Inversion, you will play a critical role in the design, packaging, and rapid iteration of hardware across multiple spacecraft and hypersonic development programs.