Senior Dynamics and Loads Engineer

Job description

Senior Dynamics and Loads Engineer  Location: Playa Vista, California (in-person, five days per week)   The return lane isn’t going to build itself. Come build it with us.  Outpost is an orbital logistics company rewriting the rules of global logistics by building reusable Earth-return vehicles that unlock in-space manufacturing, on-orbit warehousing, and 60-minute global delivery through space.  Our CarryAll vehicle family returns payloads ranging from 200 kilograms to 10 metric tons, lands within 10 meters of its target, and can then be refurbished and launched again. One vehicle, many missions: responsive logistics and precision delivery for national security; commercial cargo moved with real cadence; R&D payloads flown, tested, and refined across repeatable cycles; and critical aid delivered where roads and runways can’t reach.  The demand is already here, validated through defense and civil agreements and supported by a growing pipeline of government and commercial customers.  We have the customers, the team, and a clear technical path ahead of us. We’re building the return lane. Come build it with us.  The Role  The Senior Dynamics and Loads Engineer will own the development of loads, structural dynamics, and multibody dynamics analyses for Outpost's CarryAll. Unlike traditional space vehicle roles where the structure simply needs to survive launch, CarryAll has to survive the round trip, and then do it again: launch, separation, heatshield deployment, hypersonic reentry, descent, and landing, followed by refurbishment and reflight. You'll work across vehicle architecture, structures, mechanisms, and test to define the critical dynamic environments that size the vehicle, mature structural and deployment system designs, and validate vehicle performance through analysis and hardware correlation. This is a unique opportunity to shape the dynamic behavior of a new reusable vehicle from early concept through qualification and production.  Responsibilities  - Own development of vehicle loads, structural dynamics, and multibody dynamics analyses from early architecture through hardware realization. - Define and mature environmental load cases and dynamic environments across the full mission, including launch, separation, heatshield deployment, reentry, landing, and other transient events. - Partner closely with hardware responsible engineers to translate dynamic analysis results into design requirements, sizing inputs, interface loads, and architecture decisions. - Support development of structural dynamics models, including modal characterization, transient response, and dynamic load prediction for flight hardware. - Drive dynamic trade studies to evaluate mechanism architecture, deployment performance, structural response, and system sensitivity under uncertain and evolving design conditions. - Develop multi-mission load spectra and support fatigue and durability assessments that define refurbishment intervals and reflight limits. - Help define test objectives, instrumentation needs, and correlation plans for mechanism, structural, and dynamic development tests. - Correlate simulation results to test and flight data and refine models, assumptions, and design recommendations based on hardware learnings. - Present analysis progress, technical risks, and recommended paths forward in design reviews and cross-functional program forums. - Operate effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous development environment, balancing model fidelity, engineering judgment, and schedule needs.  Qualifications  - Bachelor's degree or higher in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, or a related field. - 5+ years of professional experience in loads, structural dynamics, multibody dynamics, or related analysis for aerospace, defense, or similarly demanding applications. - Strong fundamentals in rigid-body dynamics, structural dynamics, vibration, transient response, and mechanical system behavior. - Experience defining, evaluating, and testing mechanical loads and dynamic environments for flight hardware or other high-consequence systems including vibe and shock   - Experience with coupled loads analysis (CLA) with launch vehicle providers including Craig-Bampton methods. - Experience with finite element analysis tools such as ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, FEMAP, or equivalent, with emphasis on modal, transient, and dynamic structural analysis. - Experience with multibody dynamics tools such as ANSYS Motion, Adams, RecurDyn, Simpack, MATLAB/Simulink, or similar. - Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with design, structures, manufacturing, and test teams to turn analysis into sound hardware decisions. - Excellent verbal and written communication skills.  Preferred Experience  - Active U.S. Government Security Clearance (Not required, but beneficial) - Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, or a related field. - Experience owning both loads / structural dynamics and multibody dynamics analysis for a vehicle or mechanism development program. - Experience with deployment mechanisms, separation systems, release events, landing systems, or payload delivery systems. - Experience generating design loads and dynamic requirements used to size structures, mechanisms, and interfaces. - Experience supporting test planning, instrumentation definition, model correlation, and post-test analysis. - Experience with fatigue and durability analysis for reusable flight hardware, including non-zero mean stress, damage index, CUF, Rayleigh methodology. - Experience in the design, analysis, or test of qualified flight hardware. - Experience working on first-of-kind or highly integrated aerospace systems in an ambiguous, fast-moving development environment. - Experience developing and applying multibody dynamics models for mechanisms, deployment systems, separation events, or other complex dynamic hardware. - Proficiency in scripting (Python/MATLAB) to automate analysis workflows and data post-processing.   Compensation:  - Competitive compensation: $170,000 - $225,000 annual salary; (commensurate with experience). - Additional Compensation: Annual performance-based bonuses that reward your impact. - Shared upside: Meaningful equity in Outpost so you share directly in the value you help create. - Comprehensive healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision coverage to keep you and your loved ones covered. We cover the base tier of medical insurance and all premiums of vision and dental.  - Protection when it matters: Company-provided short- and long-term disability coverage for peace of mind, plus life insurance for even more security. - PTO: Recharge on your own terms with paid time off, plus 9 days of paid holidays. - Invest in your future:401(k) with company match to help you build long-term wealth. - Fueled for the mission: Daily DoorDash lunch stipend, plus unlimited snacks, coffee, and tea to keep you energized. - Mission that matters: Work shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders from aerospace, new space, and deep-tech industries building the future of orbital infrastructure. - Pet Friendly Office: Bring your furry friend into the office so that they can be a part of our mission too. - Monthly Company Happy Hours and Events: Drinks at the local bar, hibachi nights, mini golfing and more!   You must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15, or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S.