AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile

Mechanisms Flight Engineer

Lanham, Maryland, United States

Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 7 days ago
PythonC++JiraIntellectual PropertyEmbedded SystemsAvionicsSystems EngineeringMechanical DesignAerospace EngineeringElectrical EngineeringHardware DesignControlsTest AutomationCommunicationOrganizational SkillsMicrosoft OfficeActuators

About the role

  • The Mechanisms Flight Engineer serves as the critical link between mechanism hardware and control-system bring-up in the electronics lab and the successful execution of deployment and actuation events throughout the mission lifecycle.

Responsibilities

  • Build, configure, and maintain the mechanism drive and control representation on the flat sat, including harness routing, connector integration, motor drivers, actuator electronics, release-device fire circuits, and position/feedback sensors.
  • Perform bring-up, functional checkout, and troubleshooting of mechanism drive electronics and control paths, including motors, position sensors, peripheral devices, and HDRM circuits.
  • Develop, execute, and maintain automated and manual procedures for mechanism functional verification, including deployment, actuation, and gimbal-pointing activities.
  • Rehearse and validate commissioning, deployment, and on-orbit actuation events in the flat sat environment.
  • Reproduce on-orbit mechanism conditions in the laboratory to support anomaly investigation, troubleshooting, and resolution.
  • Support real-time mission operations during deployment and actuation activities by monitoring telemetry, executing procedures, and providing hardware-informed engineering support during critical mission events.
  • Maintain configuration control of flat sat hardware, software, and testbed builds to ensure accurate representation of flight configurations and document all deltas.
  • Collaborate closely with Mechanisms, Avionics, Software, Integration & Test, Systems Engineering, and Flight Operations teams to close verification activities and resolve technical issues.

Requirements

  • Ability to work with cabling, fine-pitch connectors, electronic assemblies, and precision flight hardware.
  • Ability to use computers, engineering workstations, and laboratory instrumentation for extended periods.
  • Ability to lift and manipulate hardware, cabling, and test equipment as required for integration and test activities.
  • Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
  • Experience with electronics bring-up, mechanism actuation and control, and electrical troubleshooting using laboratory instrumentation.
  • Education:
  • Minimum 3+ years of hands-on experience in spacecraft integration and test, flight hardware operations, mission operations, or related engineering disciplines involving mechanism control systems, actuators, or complex electromechanical systems.
  • Experience developing automated test procedures and scripts (Python preferred) for functional verification, integration testing, or operational validation.
  • Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, interface control documents (ICDs), and engineering drawings.
  • Experience performing connector verification, harness validation, and electrical interface testing.

Nice to have

  • Direct experience supporting spacecraft mechanisms, flat sat environments, spacecraft integration and test (I&T), or mission operations.
  • Experience commanding and monitoring deployment or actuation events through telemetry and command interfaces.
  • Experience with motor drive and actuator control systems, including brushed DC, brushless DC, and stepper motors, encoders, and closed-loop positioning systems.
  • Experience with spacecraft commissioning activities, deployment operations, sequence validation, timeline verification, or ground-segment interfaces.
  • Experience supporting anomaly investigations, root-cause analysis, and corrective action implementation.
  • Familiarity with spaceflight hardware development and operational readiness activities.
  • Self-directed and proactive in a fast-paced, small-team environment.

Skills

  • Meticulous documentation practices and configuration management discipline.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams.
  • Technology Stack:
  • Python and scripting languages for test automation and verification.
  • Exposure to embedded C/C++ and embedded systems development is a plus.
  • Laboratory instrumentation including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, digital multimeters, programmable power supplies, and data loggers.
  • Jira or equivalent issue-tracking tools.
  • Microsoft Office Suite.

Benefits

  • Create and utilize scripting and test automation tools to improve test repeatability, efficiency, and verification coverage.
  • Capture and analyze telemetry and test data, including motor current signatures, heater and RTD data, switch states, and deployment timing metrics to assess mechanism performance and health.
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This listing is sourced directly from AST SpaceMobile's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.