Deployable Structures Test Engineer

Espace is hiring a Deployable Structures Test Engineer to lead ground deployment testing for advanced antenna structures in our Saratoga, CA facility. This full-time, on-site role focuses on designing and executing mission-critical deployment verification tests that will fly to space.

Role Overview

As our Deployable Structures Test Engineer, you'll own the ground deployment test program for Espace's large-scale deployable antenna structure. This specialized position sits at the convergence of mechanisms engineering, structural testing, and test facility management — requiring someone with deep hands-on experience in zero-gravity deployment simulation. You'll work directly with hardware, designing rigorous test campaigns that verify how structures behave under true spaceflight conditions.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Design and execute gravity-offload deployment test campaigns, ensuring accurate Earth-based simulation of space deployment physics
• Characterize deployment kinematics and force profiles to understand structural behavior across test conditions
• Establish and validate ground-to-flight correlation, bridging laboratory results to actual on-orbit performance
• Verify deployment repeatability and confirm performance against aperture geometry specifications
• Manage test facility operations and coordinate between sites in California and Texas
• Document test results and support engineering teams with data-driven deployment insights

What You Bring

• Proven experience designing or executing structural deployment tests involving mechanisms or large composite structures
• Working knowledge of gravity-offload test methods, test load systems, and deployment simulation techniques
• Familiarity with test facility engineering, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems
• Ability to characterize mechanical kinematics and force measurements
• Background correlating ground test data to flight hardware performance
• Hands-on troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities in a laboratory environment
• Willingness to maintain on-site presence and travel between test locations

Working at Espace

Espace is building a next-generation low Earth orbit satellite system designed to transform global IoT connectivity and enable new space-based services. Our team combines deep space engineering expertise with relentless commitment to innovation in satellite communications and Earth observation. You'll contribute directly to enabling connectivity from space while collaborating with engineers pushing the boundaries of deployable space structures.

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