Senior Mechanical Engineer at Xona Space Systems in Burlingame, CA

Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth.

With Pulsar – the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit – Xona will offer a future-proof, backwards-compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection.

Role Overview

We’re looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer who can take a complex mechanical problem, define a practical approach, and deliver reliable hardware. You will own spacecraft subsystems and critical equipment from early requirements and trade studies through design, build, qualification, and production support.

Projects may include primary structure, deployable mechanisms, launch vehicle interfaces, solar arrays, machined and sheet metal brackets, electronics enclosures, precision mounts, and high-criticality mechanical ground support equipment (GSE). Your assignments will evolve with the needs of the spacecraft and the team.

You will work with substantial autonomy, make sound decisions with incomplete information, and help the team resolve its most challenging mechanical issues. This is a hands-on individual contributor role with technical leadership and mentoring responsibilities.

What you will do

• Own complex mechanical subsystems from concept through qualification and production, establishing requirements, interfaces, verification plans, and realistic delivery schedules.

• Lead mechanical trade studies and contribute to spacecraft layouts and architecture, balancing load paths, packaging, thermal interfaces, reliability, cost, manufacturability, and integration needs.

• Design flight hardware and critical GSE; release CAD, drawings, bills of materials, and interface definitions with clear GD&T, tolerance analysis, and configuration control.

• Use first-principles calculations and structural FEA to substantiate designs. Partner with structural and thermal specialists to define loads, boundary conditions, margins, and verification needs.

• Build prototypes, work directly with hardware, and develop fixtures and functional tests to retire risks. Own qualification of assigned hardware and occasionally support spacecraft vibration and TVAC campaigns.

• Lead resolution of build, integration, test, and production anomalies: contain the issue, investigate root cause, implement corrective action, and verify the fix.

• Own supplier technical execution, including requirements, design reviews, procurement coordination, inspection criteria, and resolution of manufacturing issues.

• Coordinate across mechanical, thermal, electrical, payload, GNC, manufacturing, and integration and test teams. Identify risks early, communicate tradeoffs, and drive issues to closure.

• Review designs, mentor engineers, and improve engineering practices while remaining directly responsible for delivering hardware.

Required qualifications

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

• 7+ years of mechanical hardware development experience, with demonstrated responsibility for complex assemblies or subsystems in aerospace or another high-reliability field.

• A record of independently taking hardware from requirements and concept through detailed design, build, and qualification or equivalent verification.

• Strong mechanical fundamentals, including load paths, joints and fasteners, materials, thermal and optical properties, manufacturing processes, GD&T, and tolerance analysis.

• Proficiency in 3D CAD and drawing release using SolidWorks or a comparable platform, with disciplined PDM and configuration management practices.

• Ability to perform and critically assess structural calculations and FEA, understand modeling assumptions, and reconcile analysis with physical test results.

• Hands-on experience assembling, inspecting, troubleshooting, and testing hardware, including resolving issues during integration or production.

• Demonstrated judgment in technical tradeoffs, clear communication across disciplines, and experience guiding design reviews or mentoring other engineers.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with spacecraft hardware, launch environments, or other high-reliability hardware with demanding structural and environmental requirements.

• Experience with deployment or separation mechanisms, precision assemblies, electronics packaging, or spacecraft handling and lifting equipment.

• Experience supporting vibration, shock, or thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing and using test results to improve hardware.

• Experience transitioning designs into repeatable production, resolving supplier issues, or improving assembly and inspection processes.

• Experience leading subsystem architecture, managing complex supplier deliverables, or coordinating technical interfaces with launch providers or deployer vendors.

Experience in every hardware category listed above is not expected. We are interested in the depth of your engineering work, the hardware you have delivered, and your ability to apply that experience to new problems.

For U.S. Roles: To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

For U.K. Roles: To comply with U.K. regulations, this role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC).

For Canada Roles: Successful candidates must obtain and hold a security clearance at the reliability status level, and pass security assessment for the Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP) and ITAR.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.