Turbomachinery Engineer

2d2 days ago

SpaceX

Hawthorne, US · Full-time · $100,000 – $140,000

About this role

SpaceX is seeking a highly motivated Turbomachinery Engineer to join the team in designing and developing the next generation of turbopumps for Raptor. The role leads design, development and qualification of rocket turbopumps, taking concepts from initial design through to flight hardware.

Daily work includes hydrodynamic sizing and flowpath design for impellers and diffusers, plus full mechanical analysis on all turbopump components. Engineers own secondary flow analysis, create first-principles models, and push turbomachinery performance boundaries with innovative concepts.

The position requires close collaboration with manufacturing, assembly, vehicle, feedlines and valves teams to ensure designs meet aggressive cost, weight and schedule targets. Work directly supports production translation of designs into flight hardware that revolutionizes access to space.

Engineers support component and assembly testing, define test configurations, review results and lead resolution of issues during development and qualification. Ongoing design improvements focus on manufacturing enhancements that reduce cost and lead time.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
1+ years of experience in the design of turbomachinery
Strong understanding of pump hydrodynamic and aerodynamic design and fundamentals of turbomachinery
Strong understanding of thermodynamics, compressible and incompressible flow, thermochemistry, mechanics and materials
Experience with turbomachinery manufacturing and design for manufacturability
Experience with secondary flow and axial thrust balance modeling
Experience with meanline analysis, turbomachinery testing and engine testing
Professional experience using Siemens NX or other CAD software

Responsibilities

Design, build and test turbopumps for liquid fueled rocket engines and other rocket or spacecraft systems
Own critical turbomachinery components and demonstrate ownership of every aspect of the turbomachinery design
Perform hydrodynamic sizing and flowpath design and analysis for impellers and diffusers on the Raptor engine
Ensure detailed mechanical analysis is performed on all turbopump components and systems to meet life and reliability targets
Devise models and develop new methodologies to determine turbopump performance and operability
Interface with production to ensure designs are successfully translated into flight hardware
Own secondary flow analysis and design to ensure hardware meets performance targets
Support component and assembly testing and lead resolution of issues encountered during development and qualification