Junior Aerospace Engineer
The job description
Tech stack. CATIA/NX (basics), MATLAB (basics), Excel, GD&T fundamentals, test support equipment, requirements templates
About the role
You will join an aerospace company as a junior engineer, learning vehicle development on real program work from your first month. You will support senior engineers on design tasks, analyses, and testing while building toward independent ownership of component scopes. This role matters because every senior engineer on the team started where you are, and the team's future capacity depends on juniors who learn fast, check their work, and grow into engineers others can trust with flight hardware. You will learn fastest by doing real work with real stakes, and this team will give you both from your first weeks, paired with senior engineers who take mentorship seriously. Your growth will come from asking good questions, and the best questions reveal background work done first: reading the specs, studying the drawings, attempting the analysis before asking for help. You will build habits that serve your entire career: documenting assumptions, checking units, version-controlling files, and never hiding a mistake. The engineers who advance fastest are not those who never err, but those who surface problems early, learn visibly, and steadily need less supervision.
What you will achieve
- Support 6 to 10 design or analysis tasks per year: CAD updates, hand calculations, test support, and data processing reviewed by senior engineers
- Build personal competence across core tools (CAD, analysis software, lab equipment) to independent-user level within the first year
- Deliver analysis memos and test reports with complete assumptions and clear conclusions that seniors can approve with minimal rework
- Own small component scopes (brackets, fasteners, test fixtures) with guidance, meeting timing and quality expectations
- Grow into independent ownership of a defined analysis or design area by month 12 with decreasing supervision
- Earn increasing scope by consistently delivering error-free analysis and documentation that seniors can trust with minimal review
What you will bring
Must-haves
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, or related engineering (0 to 2 years of professional experience)
- Strong fundamentals in statics, dynamics, aerodynamics, or structures from coursework and projects
- Basic CAD ability: navigating assemblies confidently and producing simple parts and drawings
- Genuine passion for aerospace, shown through design-build-fly teams, rocketry clubs, internships, or personal projects
- Careful work habits: checking calculations, documenting assumptions, and asking questions early
- Responsiveness to feedback and eagerness to learn from experienced engineers
- Clear communication in a collaborative, review-driven team environment
Nice-to-haves
- Internship or co-op with an aerospace company or government lab
- Design-build-fly, rocketry, or CubeSat project experience with a leadership role
- EIT certification or intent to pursue it
- Familiarity with aerospace quality and documentation practices
- Coursework or projects in the specific domain of your assigned team
SpaceX
Boeing
Lockheed Martin
Blue Origin
Northrop Grumman
Rocket Lab