Staff Special Projects Engineer
Inversion SpaceSpace Logistics company
Playa Vista, United StatesMid
Spark Capital
Y Combinator
Adjacent
Lockheed Martin Ventures
Kindred Ventures
Zillionize
Operations & Strategy
About the role
TL;DR
This role involves conceiving, architecting, and developing new hypersonic and reentry vehicle concepts and technologies.
- •Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth Who We Are: Inversion builds advanced reentry systems to deliver next-generation capabilities from space.
- •Our mission is to make Earth radically more accessible by turning Low-Earth Orbit into an on-demand logistics domain.
- •We see space not as a destination, but as a platform
- •one that unlocks unprecedented speed and global reach.
- •Our spacecraft are designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth in under an hour, operating through extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision.
- •These systems open the door to new ways of testing, delivering, and operating at hypersonic speeds.
- •Inherently dual-use, our technology is built to meet urgent national security needs while laying the groundwork for future commercial applications.
- •Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working with partners such as the U.S.
- •Space Force and NASA, Inversion is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space-based defense and logistics.
- •What You’ll Do: The Special Projects team at Inversion is an elite force within the Office of the CTO.
- •It consists of highly capable engineering experts from diverse fields.
- •The charter of this group is to tackle Inversion’s new technology developments.
- •The Special Projects team is designed from the beginning to operate effectively within ambiguity.
- •They will be the first to ideate, create, and deploy new products, new technologies, and new research in Inversion.
- •Individuals in the Special Projects team will be expected to rapidly gain depth and breadth of understanding of a wide range of interdisciplinary skills and technologies that may be unfamiliar to you.
- •Individuals in this team are expected to rapidly gain depth and breadth across interdisciplinary domains that may be completely unfamiliar.
- •If you require structure, a large team, or step-by-step direction
- •this is not the place for you.
- •If you thrive on solving impossible problems, building from nothing, and refusing to accept “that can’t be done”
- •you’ll fit right in.
- •In this role, you will: Partner directly with the CTO to conceive, architect, and develop new hypersonic and reentry vehicle concepts and technologies.
- •Lead the system-level design and performance modeling of advanced flight systems, including trajectory analysis, GNC trade studies, and overall vehicle performance optimization.
- •Create conceptual and detailed CAD models for proposed systems and subsystems as part of early-stage proposals and design efforts.
- •Translate high-level product ideas into executable proposals that win contracts and enable new technology development within Inversion.
- •Build, test, and iterate
- •from running 6DOF simulations to hands-on prototyping and experimental validation
- •in a fast, skunkworks-style environment.
- •Operate independently, make hard technical decisions under uncertainty, and drive ideas to reality without waiting for permission or perfect data.
- •Required Qualifications: 10+ years of experience in aerospace engineering, with a focus on system-level vehicle design, analysis, and integration.
- •Demonstrated experience designing and modeling hypersonic, reentry, or launch vehicle systems.
- •Strong foundation in flight dynamics, aerothermodynamics, GNC, and trajectory/performance analysis.
- •Proficiency in CAD and mechanical design for aerospace applications.
- •Proven ability to take an idea from zero to one
- •designing, prototyping, and validating hardware from scratch.
- •A track record of self-directed, high-ownership work
- •whether through startups or projects.
- •Deep first-principles reasoning skills; ability to move fluidly between conceptual thinking and detailed engineering.
- •Must be able to work fully onsite and thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguity-rich environment.
- •Desired Qualifications: Prior experience in hypersonics, reentry systems, or rocket vehicle design and development.
- •Familiarity with 6DOF modeling, simulation environments, and control system analysis.
- •Background founding or being an early team member in startup teams where autonomy and execution were critical to success.
- •Experience with multi-disciplinary integration of mechanical, thermal, and aerodynamic systems.
- •Demonstrated ability to rapidly prototype and test unconventional solutions.
- •Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA.
- •This position requires in office presence.
- •The California annual base salary for this role is currently $161,000
- •Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.
- •Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.
- •ITAR Compliance: To conform to U.S.
- •Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you 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 the ITAR here.
- •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 data protection laws.
- •If you are a US Job Applicant see the CCPA Privacy Policy Notice for further details.
Domain expertise
Aerospace
Tech stack
CAD6DOF