
Senior Propulsion Engineer
Job Description
Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today, Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe— large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts.
Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization. Astranis has raised over $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.
Senior Propulsion Engineer
As our Senior Propulsion Engineer, you will be a leader in designing, building, and testing our propulsion systems. You will use your experience to improve the performance of our systems, design propulsion systems from clean sheet, and to provide mentorship to younger engineers on the team. You will be a part of the test and production of many satellites that will provide service to underserved areas.
Role
- Become a technical leader and help shape the future of propulsion systems at Astranis
- Design, analyze, and document in-space propulsion systems to meet existing and future mission requirements
- Define and execute on qualification campaigns for propulsion components and systems
- Establish how we fly and operate our spacecrafts for 10+ years
- Develop strong relationships with vendors, ensuring their hardware meets our flight requirements before arriving at the factory
- Support assembly integration and test processes through launch including troubleshooting issues with spacecraft propulsion system
- Work across teams to solve problems and meet goals in a highly collaborative work environment
- Mentor entry level engineers and interns and support hiring initiatives
Requirements
- Bachelor's Degree or higher in a technical discipline (e.g. engineering, physics) or equivalent experience
- 7+ years of propulsion industry experience in a design, test, or manufacture related role
- Experience with 3D CAD, mechanical design, fabrication, and environmental qualification
- Previous aerospace or similar product design and production experience (full product development cycle)
- Hands-on experience working with fluid or gas feed systems
- Working knowledge of in space electric and chemical propulsion systems
Bonus
- Experience with propulsion or fluid component design
- Direct experience with structural or fluid analysis tools (GFSSP, ANSYS, Fluent, etc)
- Familiarity with AFSPCMAN 91-710 and other Range Safety documentation and requirements
- Experience writing Python for scientific calculation and data processing
- Familiarity with mission operations for satellites
- Specific experience with low thrust monopropellant, green monopropellant, and electric propulsion systems
Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.
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Job Details
- Department
- Mechanical
- Category
- Mechanical
- Employment Type
- Internship
- Location
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Posted
- Apr 27, 2026, 05:10 PM
- Listed
- Apr 27, 2026, 05:10 PM
- Compensation
- $145,000 - $235,000 per year
About Astranis
Part of the growing frontier tech ecosystem pushing the edges of what's possible.
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