Vehicle Structures Engineer I

Relativity Space is building rockets to serve today's needs and tomorrow's breakthroughs. The Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, and commercial success with Terran R will open new opportunities in science, exploration, and innovation.

About the Team

The Structures and Mechanisms team handles the full design, build, and test lifecycle of Terran R's integrated structures and flight mechanisms. Team members work on hardware ranging from highly iterative mechanisms to tight-margin structures, with hands-on hardware ownership and a view of the rocket taking shape on the factory floor.

The Base Heat Shield Structures team owns the full design, build, and test lifecycle of Terran R's base heat shield. The team is responsible for all structure aft of the engine gimbal plane, with the core goal of isolating the engines from hazardous atmospheric environments during flight. The team sits within the wider Structures and Mechanisms department and shares design principles, tools, and an integrated approach.

About the Role

You will take critical flight structures and supporting components from design concept to physical hardware ready to launch. The work covers the full design cycle for primary and secondary structures on the Terran R Base Heat Shield, including conceptualization, design, analysis, manufacturing, and testing.

Example projects include:

• OML skins, base panels, high temperature seals, and internal supporting structures
• Review of static and dynamic load inputs, material properties and test data, and structural system and subsystem requirements
• Analysis and sizing of flight structures to support timely design reviews and drawing release
• Developing and supporting hardware test campaigns, including test integration, operation, and result evaluation
• Supporting manufacturing process development, including tooling and fixture design or analysis
• Delivering these projects on time and within budget

You will work closely with the Thermal Protection System (TPS), Design, Test, and Loads and Dynamics teams. Each week you will design flight or ground components in NX and Teamcenter, perform analysis using ANSA, META, ANSYS, and hand calculations, create and release drawings, and support fabrication. You will document your work clearly and make recommendations when decisions are needed.

Nice to Have (Not Required)

• Extensive experience with NX and Teamcenter
• Expertise using Nastran and ANSYS
• Experience with GD&T and drafting

Hiring Timeline

Relativity is actively hiring for immediate openings. Candidates should have completed their degree requirements and be available to start full-time employment within 30 to 60 days of applying. If your availability falls outside this window, you are welcome to apply once you are within 30 to 60 days of being available to start.