At Stoke, we believe a thriving space economy will enable a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable future here on Earth. That is why we’re building Nova, our fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicle. Designed for daily flight, Nova tackles the core challenges of space transportation by reducing cost, increasing availability, and improving reliability. By radically lowering launch costs and increasing flight cadence, we’re helping create a truly scalable space industry.
Our team is mission-driven, collaborative, and empowered to take ownership of their work. If you want to work alongside some of the most dedicated and talented people on Earth, we’d love to have you join us.
Description
As a System Architect, you will be a core member of a small and agile team focused on developing architecture concepts and system requirements for future iterations of the Nova launch system. You will translate customer objectives and business goals into feasible technical concepts. You will perform first-order analysis and trade studies to evaluate concepts and downselect for further development. You will perform first-order analysis and develop assumptions across a broad range of technical disciplines to make estimates of mass, power, cost, and performance despite limited information and significant uncertainty. In collaboration with the Nova product development teams, you will support the implementation of your architecture concepts into real hardware, learn lessons from integrated testing and flight operations, and translate those lessons into future architecture improvements. You must be ready to stay focused, move fast, self-direct, and learn on the fly.
Key Responsibilities
- Listen to customer input and business goals, then develop conceptual system architecture, concept of operations (ConOps), and functional capabilities which meet customer and business objectives
- Define system requirements to meet functional capabilities and ConOps, define product breakdown, and decompose requirements to lower-level products
- Quickly make assumptions, perform first-order analysis to validate those assumptions, and generate estimations of system and component performance based on limited information
- Define system-level approaches to reliability, performance margin management, and incremental development of capabilities, then work to maintain commonality in those approaches across the launch system throughout the lifecycle
- Support the products that you help architect through the full lifecycle including detailed design, integration, test, and operations
- Provide cross-system technical insight and subject matter expertise as needed to identify and mitigate risks that arise during the product lifecycle
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering or similar field
- 10+ years of experience in an engineering role on a complex product requiring high performance, high reliability, and a rapid development process
- Exceptional command of fundamentals in one or more of the following engineering disciplines: aerospace structures, mechanisms, propulsion systems, avionics, software, or flight dynamics
- Ability to understand and apply fundamentals for first-order analysis across all disciplines
- Ability to move quickly and make decisions in an environment of uncertainty
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Ability to lead and follow
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree or PhD in aerospace engineering or similar field
- Experience on a launch vehicle and/or spacecraft program from early concept definition through flight test
Benefits
- Equity – We are pleased to offer equity in the form of stock options to all full-time employees.
- Comprehensive benefits program including subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Company-paid life and disability insurance
- 401(k) plan with employer match
- 4 weeks’ Paid Time Off
- Holidays – 10 days (including an end-of-year closure)
- Paid Parental Leave
- On-site gym or monthly wellness stipend (depending on location)
- Dog friendly offices!
Compensation
Target Levels:
Level 3: $129,150 - $193,620
Level 4: $151,305 - $252,105
Level 5: $176,505 - $327,810
Our job posts are intentionally written to attract a wide variety of experience levels, and we make decisions about the right fit on a per-candidate basis.
Your actual level and base salary will be decided based on your specific experience and skill level.
ITAR Requirements
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.
Equal Opportunity
The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including with respect to disability and veteran status. It is committed to compliance with all equal opportunity laws, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title VII. It does not discriminate on the basis of nationality, race, citizenship, immigration status, or any other protected class when it comes to employment practices, including hiring.
Employment at the Company is contingent upon satisfactory completion of reference and background checks, and on your ability to prove your identity and authorization to work in the U.S. for the Company. Employees must comply with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services employment verification requirements, and, therefore, they must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 at the start of employment and re-verify authorization to work periodically.
Separate from this I-9 process, this position entails access to certain technology and technical data that is restricted under U.S. export control laws and regulations. Employment or continued employment may be conditioned on your legal authorization to work with or have access to export control materials as necessary to perform your job.
Candidate Rights & Accommodations
If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete the application or participate in the interview process, please contact [email protected]. Requests will be handled in accordance with applicable laws. Please do not include medical or other confidential information in your initial request.
For more information about your rights, please refer to the "Know Your Rights" notice here.
E-Verify
Stoke Space uses E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.
For more information on the right to work, please refer to the poster here.
Stoke Space Seattle, Washington, USA Office
Seattle, WA, United States
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the Seattle Tech Scene
Key Facts About Seattle Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 287,000; 13% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Google
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, software, biotechnology, game development
- Funding Landscape: $3.1 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Madrona, Fuse, Tola, Maveron
- Research Centers and Universities: University of Washington, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle Children’s Research Institute
