🚀 Senior TPS Design Engineer

Join to apply for the Senior TPS Design Engineer role at Inversion

About Inversion

We are building highly maneuverable re‑entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth. Our mission is to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth.

What You’ll Do

• Design cutting‑edge thermal protection systems for Inversion’s Arc vehicle.
• Organize development and qualification testing of TPS materials and installations.
• Develop accelerated TPS integration methods to reduce manufacturing time.
• Develop the analysis and design workflow of the flight heatshields for flight vehicles.
• Explore trades between TPS materials and manufacturing methods.
• Work with outside vendors, suppliers, and testing resources to bring new materials, capabilities, and processes in‑house at Inversion.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree in Material Science, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or Chemical Engineering, or equivalent experience in a relevant field.
• Typical 5+ years of professional experience working with, formulating, or producing materials for extreme temperature environments (reentry, rocketry, hypersonics, propulsion, nuclear power, etc.).
• Experience using Siemens NX or similar CAD software.
• Proven ability to work effectively in a fast‑paced environment.
• Onsite at our Playa Vista, California office.

Desired Qualifications

• Professional experience in design, testing, and integration of thermal protection systems for hypersonic or re‑entry flight vehicles.
• Professional experience working with, formulating, or producing ablative or ceramic TPS.
• Strong understanding of the fundamentals behind aerothermal heating of re‑entry vehicles, TPS production, and thermal environments of extreme temperature applications.
• Prior experience working in startups and/or small independent teams.

Work Location

Playa Vista, CA. This position requires onsite presence.

Compensation

California annual base salary $150,000‑$170,000; pay grades determined by role, level, location and alignment with market data.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability. Inversion collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

ITAR Compliance

To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual, or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.