Powerpack Engineer, Level I | Job Description

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth.

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.

About the Role:

The turbopump is the heart of the engine and sets its performance ceiling. As a Level I engineer on the turbomachinery team, you will own individual turbopump components that form part of a larger assembly. Depending on your background and where the team needs help, your first hardware might be an inducer or impeller, a volute or diffuser, turbine hardware, dynamic seals, or a pump housing. This is a hands-on job. You will be the designer, next to the machinist while your part is cut, in the control room when it is tested, and in the review when the test data comes back. As your hardware record builds, so does your scope.

Responsibilities:

• Bring creativity to every design challenge and own your work through to completion.

• Design turbopump components under the direction of a more experienced engineer: CAD models, drawings, tolerances, GD&T, and material and process callouts.

• Run the analysis on your own parts, hand calculations and FEA, then check your predictions against test data.

• Take constraints from hydro, aero, structures, secondary flow, and thermals and turn them into geometry that satisfies all of them.

• Work on the shop floor with machinists and technicians, support first article review, and help disposition nonconformances.

• Support component and engine test. Help write instrumentation requests, take test day support shifts, and reduce the data afterward.

• Keep configuration and pedigree records straight for your parts across build, test, and refurbishment.

• Troubleshoot hardware, take part in root cause investigations, and carry the resulting design changes.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.

• Solid fundamentals in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, structural mechanics, and materials.

• Experience seeing a mechanical design through to physical hardware, built, assembled, and tested. Internships, co-ops, and competition or research team experience count.

• Proficiency with CAD (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or Creo) and experience creating engineering drawings to ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards.

• Working knowledge of FEA tools (ANSYS, Nastran, or Abaqus) applied to structural or thermal problems.

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with rotating machinery, propulsion, or other high-performance mechanical hardware. Internships, co-ops count.

• Hands-on prototyping and machining experience. Personal projects, shop work, and student build teams (FSAE, Baja, rocketry, robotics) all qualify.

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field.

• Coursework or project experience in propulsion, turbomachinery, rotordynamics, or compressible and incompressible flow.

• Experience with tolerance stack-ups on parts that were actually built.

• Exposure to cryogenic hardware or cryogenic fluid handling.

• Exposure to additive manufacturing.

• Experience at a fast-moving, hardware-focused startup or early-stage program.

• Track record of picking up unfamiliar problems quickly and closing them out with minimal direction.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $110,000 – $135,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) retirement savings plan

• Paid time off

• 10 paid holidays per calendar year

• Paid parental leave

• Relocation assistance if applicable

• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.