Structures Engineer, In-Orbit WPT Demo Mission (m/f/d)

Focus: You will own the mechanical design and structural integrity of the payload for TerraSpark's first space-to-Earth wireless power beaming demonstration mission, planned for launch in 2028. Your job is to deliver lightweight, modular structures that survive launch, behave themselves in orbit, hold a phased array and power electronics in tight formation, and play nicely with the thermal design, all while spending plenty of time at the workbench rather than only in CAD.

What you'll do:

• Own the structural architecture of the WPT payload: layouts, interfaces, and modular elements that house the phased array, power electronics, and associated subsystems within mass and stiffness targets.
• Design lightweight, modular structures (panel/array assemblies, brackets, supports) with a healthy obsession for stiffness, strength, and dynamic behaviour under launch and operational loads.
• Run structural analysis (static, modal, random vibration) to show the launcher and the orbit that you have read their requirements, then iterate the design when reality has notes.
• Work closely with the Thermal Engineer so the structure quietly supports passive thermal control: conduction paths, radiating surfaces, and controlled interfaces, rather than fighting them.
• Collaborate with the RF Electronics/Software and WPT engineers on mounting concepts, keep-out zones, grounding and shielding, and mechanical provisions for high-density electronics and RF hardware.
• Get hands-on building and handling structural prototypes in metals, composites, and additive parts, supporting assembly, integration, and fit-checks (and the occasional moment of "that should not have fit but it does").
• Define and support structural test plans (vibration, shock, deployment/functional tests): test article design, instrumentation, test execution, and correlating results back to your models so they get less wrong over time.
• Contribute structural inputs to system-level reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR), documentation (CAD, BoMs, analysis reports, ICDs), and interface definitions with the host spacecraft.

What you bring:

• MSc or BSc in Mechanical, Aerospace, or Structural Engineering, or similar, with several years of experience designing space structures or similarly demanding lightweight, modular assemblies.
• A proven track record designing and analysing lightweight, modular structures such as solar arrays, array antennas, or deployable panels, from concept through to tested hardware that actually exists.
• Strong structural analysis and modelling skills (FEA) for static strength, modal, and vibration response, ideally with the experience of being humbled by test data and improving the model afterwards.
• Hands-on experience building and handling mechanical prototypes across materials and manufacturing methods, and a clear build, test, iterate mindset rather than a wait-for-the-perfect-CAD one.
• Solid grasp of space mechanical design and verification practices: launcher environments, margins, factors of safety, structural test philosophies, and direct involvement in qualification and/or acceptance test campaigns.
• Experience contributing to at least one successful flight project (from design through launch and operations) is highly desirable.