Staff Turbomachinery Engineer - Turbine Development

5w1 month ago

Relativity

Long Beach, US · Full-time · $164,000 – $225,500

About this role

At Relativity Space, we're building rockets to serve today's needs and tomorrow's breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting growing demand for launch capacity. We are looking for a technical expert to advance the state of the art of turbine design for space applications.

You will collaborate closely with propulsion development and manufacturing teams to incorporate improvements into future designs. You must thrive in ambiguity, drive projects to completion, and have passion and tenacity to work through challenging issues unique to rocket turbopumps.

The propulsion team owns engine design from concept through launch and reuse. We partner heavily with manufacturing, test, launch, and integration teams, striving to develop engines in record time to support Terran R's first launch in 2026. As part of this team, you will help build, test, and iterate on the full product lifecycle of Aeon-R engine systems.

Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven't been solved before, helping develop a rocket, factory, and business from the ground up. Your work will come to life in record time.

Requirements

Degree in engineering or related technical field and 10+ years of relevant experience.
Experience with turbine design, performing aerodynamic and structural analysis.
Experience with LCF and HCF methodologies.
Knowledge of industry standard turbomachinery design and analysis.
Strong communication skills.
Knowledge of turbopump assembly procedures, including rotor balancing, interference fits, clearance checks, structural proofing, and leak checks.

Responsibilities

Collaborate closely with propulsion development and manufacturing teams to incorporate improvements into future turbine designs.
Drive your own projects to completion while thriving in ambiguity and working through challenging issues unique to rocket turbopumps.
Perform aerodynamic and structural analysis for turbine design, including LCF and HCF methodologies.
Contribute to the full product lifecycle of Aeon-R engine systems from concept through launch and reuse.
Partner with manufacturing, test, launch, and integration teams to develop engines in record time.
Advance the state of the art of turbine design for space applications.

Benefits

Autonomy and ownership over impactful work from day one.
Work on cutting-edge rocket technology with a tangible product in development.
Collaborative environment where creativity and technical rigor are valued.
Opportunity to shape product, process, and culture at an early yet momentum-driven stage.