Stage Fluids Engineer I

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA 90801, US• Full Time

Posted 1 hour ago• Mechanical• Mechanical

Compensation

$90,000–$124,500/year

Job Description

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team:

The Stage Fluids team is responsible for the design and delivery of the propellant, pressurant, pneumatics, and other fluid systems that turn structures into functioning rockets! The team has full ownership across design, production, test, and flight, maintaining a holistic view of Terran R, focused not on isolated parts but integrated functionality. Working on-site at the factory means you’re never far from the hardware, enabling rapid iteration and tight feedback loops across design and manufacturing. You won’t just be handed requirements: you’ll be expected to ask the right questions, collaborate with partners across the company, and ultimately find the best solutions for Terran R. 

About the Role:

In this role, you will be responsible for the hardware design and implementation of the vehicle fluid architecture, ensuring a reliable and efficient operation of our Terran R launch vehicle. Your primary tasks will be focused on:
- Fluid routing and system-level trade studies
- Mechanical verification of fluid system hardware (hand calculations and FEA)
- Structural design of pressure components, mounting hardware, and tubing
- Hardware testing, validation, and health assessment
- Basic fluid system analysis and general architecture support
- Production support, on-floor troubleshooting and incorporation of direct feedback to improve hardware designs
- To succeed in this role, you will bring a solid foundation in fundamental physics and the ability to apply first-principles thinking to complex problems. You are self-motivated, adaptable, and thrive in a fast-paced, highly integrated and collaborative vehicle development environment
This role offers the opportunity to directly contribute to vehicle stage hardware while accelerating your professional growth in a culture that values collaboration, ownership, technical rigor, and calculated risk-taking

About You:

The right person for this role will need to be someone who enjoys collaboration in a highly dynamic team environment. They will have end to end ownership of their designs and immediately see hardware you designed come to fruition. They must be flexible to changes in strategic direction and willing to take full ownership of their projects to ensure we as a company produce the best possible product. About You:
Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or an equivalent engineering discipline
Hardware design and ownership experience in industry, internships, or school projects
Project experience with at least 3 of the following:
- Experience with fluid system components (fittings, seals, valves, regulators, etc.) and system testing
- Experience with fluid system operation or design
- Experience with FEA tools to analyze structural margins
- Experience with a commercial CAD package (NX, CREO, Solidworks)

Nice to haves but not required:

1+ years of related experience

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$90,000—$124,500 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [email protected].