Muon Space
Staff Mechanical Engineer - Solar Mechanisms & Deployables
San Jose, CA · Staff+ · Full-time
Sponsorship not specified$202k-$223kDetected 7 hours ago
SolidWorksGD&TMechanical DesignCommunicationRemote SensingActuators
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odds of building a lasting career here
47Sponsors, lottery-bound
Cap-exempt (no lottery)0
Sponsors this role35
Entry-level history0
PERM / green-card track0
Lottery odds (Level IV)94
Fits your clock70
Sponsors, but it's cap-subject — you still face the weighted lottery (~61% per draw at Level IV). Good if you win; have a cap-exempt backup on your list.
Lottery odds assume a STEM candidate.
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About the role
- 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 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
- Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data.
- Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance.
Requirements
- 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
- Proven track record of qualifying single-point-failure mechanisms, including deployment, life, and environmental testing
- 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
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical field
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
- Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week
- 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)
Nice to have
- Expert-level command of CAD (SolidWorks preferred), GD&T, drawings, BOMs, and tolerance/mass/torque budgets
Compensation
- The salary range for this role is $ 202,000 - $223,000, 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.
- At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package.
- In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance.
Benefits
- Own single-point-failure management for deployables, including margin, redundancy, and test-coverage strategy
- Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale.
- We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.
- We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity.
Company info
- Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too.
- In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.
Visa & Work Authorization
- We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity
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This listing is sourced directly from Muon Space's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.