Sr. Turbomachinery Engineer

ABL Space Systems was founded in 2017 by veterans of SpaceX and Morgan Stanley to develop low-cost launch vehicles for the small satellite industry. More importantly, we’re building a launch system we are truly proud of – no gimmicks or over-design, just reliable, rapidly deployable launches. We’re an ambitious team with big goals and, together, we’re determined to prove that reaching space can be simple, efficient, and routine.  
When launch day arrives, we want you by our side
As a Senior Turbomachinery Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, analyzing, and testing turbomachinery. You will be driving turbopump design and development from concept through flight.  This Includes collaborating with manufacturing team to design for producibility and scale to production. Working with test site for development and qualification of turbomachinery.  We are looking for Turbomachinery Engineer who enjoys solving complex problems, can work effectively in a fast-paced environment, and shares our passion for developing spaceflight propulsion systems and turbomachines.

Responsibilities:

• Deep ownership of turbomachinery from design to flight.
• Development and qualification of turbomachinery for liquid rocket engines.  
• Knowledgeable hydrodynamic and / or aerodynamic design of pumps/ turbines for high power density machines.  
• Knowledgeable of turbopump mechanical elements such as mechanical seals, cryogenic bearings, secondary flows, and rotor thrust control features.
• Structural and modal analysis of stationary and rotating components.  Basic static structural, LCF, and HCF. 
• Basic fundamentals of rotordynamics
• Mechanical design of additive manufactured housings and high precision rotating parts.  Detailed drawings and basic GD&T.
• Manufacturing and build support as required.
• Willingness to support all ABL test sites as required.

Basic Qualifications:

• Min 7+ years of turbomachinery product lifecycle development experience
• Experience In liquid rocket turbomachinery
• Experience in taking a product through a full development cycle from concept to delivery
• Design and test experience of rotating machinery
• Bachelor's engineering or Physics from accredited university
• Experience In cryogenic fluids.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Concepts Tools such as Pumpal, Axial, Axcent
• XLROTOR or Dyrobes
• Bearing Design and Analysis  
• GFSSP
• Ansys Structural and Fluids  or equivalent
• Experience with Siemens NX CAD packages
• Python (preferred) or equivalent
• Incompressible and compressible fundamentals
• A self-starter with the ability to work in a dynamic environment
• Excellent technical communication

What We Look For:

• 1. Critical thinking: ABL engineers understand the "why" behind all design decisions, operational events and test outcomes.  
• 2. Ability to deal with ambiguity: there is no roadmap and ABL engineers must be comfortable defining their own pathway to an objective. 
• 3. End-to-end ownership: projects are delivered fully complete and ready for flight; there is no one to pick up the slack of partially complete work. 

Physical Requirements/Work Environments:

• Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time
• Ability to life 50 pounds with reasonable accommodations
• Ability to use a computer to complete assignments
• Ability to communicate with individuals and groups in person, by phone and telepresence
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will typically work in an office environment.
• Willingness to travel to various ABL sites to support testing, launching, and refurbishment ( 20% of the year)

ITAR RequirementThis position requires access to information protected under US export control laws, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and/or the Export Administration Regulations.  As such, US person status (including US citizens, permanent residents, asylees, and refugees) is a required qualification for this position.
Equal Opportunity EmployerWe are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, genetics, or citizenship status (when otherwise legally authorized to work and access export-controlled data) and will not be discriminated against on the basis of such characteristics or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We encourage applicants of all ages.