Job Description

Electromechanical Engineer (All-Levels)

Department: Avionics

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Hawthorne, California

Compensation: $100,000 - $230,000 / year

Description

Astrolab is The Lunar Operations Company. We design and build the systems and hardware the lunar economy will come to depend on — rovers, power, and data networks for sustained operations on the Moon. We are focused on the problems that must be solved before the next chapter of human exploration can scale. The Moon does not forgive untested assumptions. The people who work here know that, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

We are seeking an Electromechanical Engineer with spaceflight hardware delivery experience, specializing in avionics electronics packaging, static and dynamic harness architecture, and passive/active thermal hardware integration.

You will bridge the disciplines of electrical, mechanical, and systems engineering and take ownership of the physical, electrical, and thermal interface boundaries that house and interconnect mission-critical spaceflight avionics designed to survive long-duration exposure in cislunar and lunar surface operations. You will solve coupled structural, radiation shielding, and extreme thermal/cryogenic design challenges, taking hardware from initial conceptual trade studies through cleanroom flight builds, environmental qualification, vehicle-level integration, and flight ops. This position will report to the Director of Avionics.

What you'll do

• Lead the mechanical and structural design of space-qualified electronics enclosures, ensuring survival under launch random vibration, acoustic loads, and shock environments
• Select flight-proven materials, surface treatments, and staking compounds while balancing structural stiffness, thermal conductivity, electrical bonding, and outgassing limits
• Produce flight drawing packages with precise GD&T, fastener torque schedules, and electrical grounding and bonding callouts per spaceflight standards
• Collaborate closely with thermal analysis teams to verify conductive thermal paths from high-power die and board interfaces to chassis conduction decks and radiator interfaces in vacuum
• Integrate passive and active thermal control hardware, including heat pipes, thermal straps, thermal interface materials, operational and survival heater circuits, RTDs, thermistors, and multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets
• Architect static and articulated or dynamic harness installations, including cable wrap mechanisms, service loops, twist capsules, and flex or rigid-flex jumper assemblies
• Design custom brackets, harness support trays, strain relief features, and breakout bulkheads optimized for mass, mass-elastic constraints, and design for manufacturability (DFM)
• Present and defend mechanical packaging, harness routing schemes, and thermal hardware implementations at formal milestone reviews, including PDR, CDR, TRR, and MRR

What you'll bring

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) related field
• 1+ years of experience designing and developing physical hardware for high-reliability applications
• Experience using 3D CAD software such as Siemens NX, Creo, or SolidWorks, including mechanical packaging, sheet metal, and machined enclosures
• Experience working with electrical harnesses, interconnects, wire routing, shielding, and grounding for complex hardware systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience applying thermal management concepts, including heat sinks, thermal interface materials, heaters, and thermal paths for hardware operating in controlled or vacuum environments
• Master’s degree in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) related field
• Experience designing or supporting flight-qualified hardware for satellites, launch vehicles, lunar landers, space robotics, or other aerospace systems
• Experience using 3D harness routing or electrical routing tools, such as Capital Harness, Zuken E3, or NX Electrical Routing
• Experience developing rigid-flex PCB physical layouts or continuous-flex interconnects for moving mechanisms, gimbals, or deployment systems
• Experience working with spaceflight interconnect standards and requirements, including IPC/WHMA-A-620 Space Addendum and NASA-STD-8739.4
• Experience designing or implementing MLI for vacuum environments
• Experience performing bonding and grounding verification, including low-resistance or milli-ohm measurements
• Experience designing or supporting vehicle harness bundles or avionics enclosures used in operational aerospace systems

Benefits and Perks

• Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
• Equity ownership in the company
• Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Flexible PTO and parental leave
• Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
• Once a month social hour on-site with food and drinks