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Structural Analyst
JOB DESCRIPTION • COWBOY SPACE CORP.
Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth.
Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.
About the Role
As a Structural Analyst, you will own structural prediction and design verification for the team — the loads, the models, the margins, and the data that back every structural decision we make. You are accountable for the full lifecycle of that prediction: deriving the load cases, analyzing static strength, fatigue life, and damage tolerance, setting the margin policy the team designs to, and then closing the loop by reducing structural test data, correlating it back into the models and empowering your other team members to do the same. Beyond running analysis, you will define how structural problems get solved here — choosing the right method for each problem and building the tools and templates the team uses to document and verify the work. You will work closely with the head of analysis, fluids, propulsion, GNC teams, and test operations teams, and your analyses will directly enable test and flight confidence. You’ll be expected to move quickly, iterate often, and take full ownership of the structural predictions the team flies on.
Responsibilities
Own the full lifecycle of structural prediction and data for the team — from load definition and first-order sizing through correlated, test-anchored models used to clear hardware for flight.
Derive and maintain the structural load sets: quasi-static and dynamic load cases, pressure and thermal loads, and coupled loads across ground handling, ascent, and on-orbit environments.
Perform static strength and stability analysis — yield and ultimate margins, buckling, joint and fastener analysis, bearing and bolt-group checks, and local detail stress.
Perform fatigue and durability analysis: spectrum development, cumulative damage, and life prediction for reusable and cycled hardware.
Perform fracture and damage-tolerance analysis with crack growth where applicable, including initial flaw assumptions, critical flaw sizes, and inspection intervals. Provide guidance to the broader team for best design practices to preclude the necessity for these analyses.
Develop the tools, scripts, templates, and checklists the team uses to perform, document, and verify structural analyses so results are consistent, reviewable, and repeatable across engineers.
Select and apply material allowables, accounting for temperature, environment, process, and material form; maintain the allowables the team analyzes to.
Define test objectives and pass/fail criteria; support proof, static, modal, vibration, and life testing with predictions, and perform data analysis and model correlation.
Perform data reduction for structural test data,and correlate analytical predictions against measurements.
Support anomaly investigation and root cause analysis, including failure reconstruction, post-test and post-flight inspection, and disposition of nonconformances.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
5+ years of experience performing structural analysis for flight vehicles, propulsion systems, or other high-performance hardware.
Strong fundamentals in solid mechanics, structural analysis, stability, and materials behavior, including plasticity, fatigue, and fracture with demonstrated experience determining static strength, stability, and fatigue analysis. Knowledgeable of damage-tolerance and crack-growth methods.
Proficiency with commercial FEA tools for linear and nonlinear structural problems.
Ability to substantiate results with classical hand calculations and to explain and defend method selection, not only tool output.
Proficiency with Python or MATLAB for analysis automation, post-processing, and tool development.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
Preferred Qualifications
10+ years of experience performing structural analysis for flight vehicles, propulsion systems, or other high-performance hardware.
Direct experience with launch vehicle, spacecraft, or rocket engine structures.
Experience with formal fracture control programs and standards such as NASA-STD-5019, and with crack-growth tools such as NASGRO or AFGROW.
Familiarity with NASA-STD-5001 and NASA-STD-5002 structural design and verification requirements, and with factor-of-safety and model uncertainty factor policy.
Experience with structural dynamics: modal survey and correlation, random vibration, shock, and coupled loads analysis.
Experience with composite and bonded structure analysis, including failure criteria and damage tolerance for laminates and COPVs.
Experience analyzing pressure vessels, tanks, or pressurized structures to ASME BPVC or AIAA S-080/S-081.
Strong working knowledge of relevant industry standards and material allowables sources (MMPDS/MIL-HDBK-5, ASME BPVC, AIAA, NASA structural standards).
Experience with nonlinear FEA — contact, large deflection, material nonlinearity — and with thermal-structural or fluid-structure coupled analysis.
Experience developing analysis automation, scripted workflows (ANSYS APDL or Mechanical scripting), or internal analysis tooling used by a team.
Experience supporting structural qualification campaigns, proof and burst testing, or vehicle static and modal testing.
Experience setting or owning analysis standards and review processes for a group of engineers.
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $140,000 – $195,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.
Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) retirement savings plan
Paid time off
10 paid holidays per calendar year
Paid parental leave
Relocation assistance if applicable
Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks
ITAR Requirements
Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.
Disclaimer
This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.
Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.
