Mechanical Engineer/Designer (Structures)

Job description

About Canada Rocket Company Canada Rocket Company is developing Canada's first medium-lift launch vehicle. We are a team of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, ArianeGroup, Pangea Propulsion, Tesla, MDA, and more, bringing over a century of combined launch and space systems experience back to Canada. Our mission is to provide reliable, independent access to space for Canada and its allies in a rapidly expanding global market. Our approach is defined by pragmatic engineering: We utilize a core engine with > 725 kN of sea-level thrust that scales capability in medium-lift via engine clustering. We lean on simple, proven technologies to reach orbit faster, avoiding the pitfalls of complex or novel designs. We test early and often, catching problems on the bench instead of at the pad. Backed by >$20M in funding secured within our first four months, including the largest all-Canadian seed round in the sector and an $8.3M Department of National Defence grant, we are moving with the speed and institutional backing required to meet Canada’s orbital launch needs. About the role Canada Rocket Company is building a sovereign launch capability for Canada. We're looking for a Mechanical Engineer / Mechanical Design Specialist to support the design and development of vehicle structures. You will work across structures, fluids, and propulsion to design the load bearing and pressure-holding systems make up the airframe of the vehicle. This is a highly cross-functional role for an engineer who is equally comfortable in CAD, engineering analysis, manufacturing discussions, and test execution. If you want to solve practical, multidisciplinary design problems and help turn an integrated launch vehicle into real hardware, this is the role. What you'll do Support the design and development of structural hardware such as tanks, interstages, and integrated assemblies across the vehicle. Own and be accountable for structural systems from concept through, design, supplier discussion, manufacturing, test, iteration, and flight integration. Translate requirements into mechanical concepts, detailed designs, and released hardware that meet functional, structural, thermal, packaging, manufacturability, and reliability targets. Develop CAD models, detailed drawings, interface definitions, and release packages for hardware spanning prototype, development, qualification, and flight configurations. Perform engineering analyses appropriate to the hardware, including hand calculations and FEA-supported assessments related to strength, stiffness, vibration, thermal effects, tolerance stack-up, fit-up, and functional performance. Drive packaging and integration of structural hardware within tight vehicle environments, balancing accessibility, maintainability, assembly flow, mass, and interface constraints. Partner closely with avionics, propulsion, fluids, manufacturing, integration, and test teams to ensure designs are practical, well integrated, and executable. Support design-for-manufacture and design-for-assembly decisions, with a strong understanding of manufacturing and assembly processes, and relevant interfaces. Qualifications Required Experience in mechanical design and development for aerospace, automotive, or similarly demanding hardware environments; expectations will scale with level. Strong experience owning mechanical components or assemblies from concept through detailed design, manufacturing, build, test, and deployment. Proficiency in CAD and mechanical drawing creation, with the ability to generate clear, manufacturable, and well-controlled hardware definitions. Strong engineering fundamentals, including statics, strength of materials, basic structural mechanics, tolerance stack-ups, fits, joints, and practical design for real hardware. Ability to perform and interpret engineering analyses using a combination of first-principles calculations and FEM/FEA tools, with sound judgment on the level of analysis appropriate to the problem. Experience working across disciplines to integrate mechanical hardware with adjacent systems. Experience with tolerance analysis, stack-up management, GD&T, interface control, and assembly alignment in tightly constrained hardware environments. Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and how design decisions affect producibility, cost, quality, schedule, assembly, and inspection. Ability to operate with ownership in a fast-paced, cross-functional hardware development environment. Excellent communication and collaboration skills, especially across design, analysis, manufacturing, and integration boundaries. Preferred Direct experience designing aerospace vehicle hardware, propulsion support hardware, fluid system hardware, avionics mechanical packaging, or other highly integrated electromechanical or mechanical systems. Experience with routed systems and hardware such as pneumatic lines, tubes, fittings, valves, manifolds, brackets, actuator mounts, reservoirs, and pressure-containing assemblies. Hands-on experience with machining, sheet metal, welded assemblies, bent tube design, machined manifolds, additive manufacturing, composites, or other relevant aerospace fabrication methods. Familiarity with rapid design-build-test hardware development environments. Bachelor's or advanced degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, or a related field. *note: To hold the title of Engineer, and take responsibility for designs that impact public safety, candidates are required to hold a current P.Eng License, in good standing.