Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Components Engineer II at rocketlab

Compensation

$132,000 – $220,000/yr

Location: Long Beach, California
Type: Full-time
Level: senior
Posted: Sep 1, 2026

Description

Rocket Lab is hiring a Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Components Engineer II for its propulsion engineering team in Long Beach, California. The role owns system- and component-level development of spacecraft propulsion and fluidic systems, including CAD design, performance analysis, design reviews, testing, data analysis, project management, stakeholder communication, and mentorship. Candidates need at least eight years of propulsion-system development experience, a bachelor’s degree in engineering, flight-hardware release experience, and experience with storable propellants; US citizenship and clearance eligibility are required. The position offers a base salary of $132,000–$220,000 USD plus equity and benefits.

Required Skills

Propulsion development
CAD design
Performance analysis
Test planning
Project management
NI testing
Storable propellants
Python

Additional Information

Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, aerospace, mechanical, mechatronics, or another technical engineering discipline
Required Previous Experiences: 8+ years of propulsion-system development experience or equivalent high-performance field experience
Experience approving flight-part releases, qualification reports, and flight-hardware decisions
End-to-end propulsion-system development experience through requirements, design, qualification, production, and acceptance testing
Hands-on integration and testing experience, preferably with NI equipment and software
Experience with propulsion systems using electrical and chemical storable propellants
Preferred Qualifications: Detailed mechanical design using NX or equivalent CAD and Product Lifecycle Management software
Experience developing requirements and verification sets, test plans, testing, and test reports
Python capabilities for data manipulation and post-processing
Experience with National Instruments data acquisition systems
Experience testing and troubleshooting flight hardware
Master’s or PhD