Principal Turbomachinery Engineer, Turbine Development

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team:

The propulsion team at Relativity is responsible for the successful development of the engines that will power the Terran R vehicle. We own their design from concept through to launch and reuse. Our team partners heavily with manufacturing, test, launch, and integration teams, striving to develop our engines in record time and to support Terran R's first launch in 2026. As part of this team, you will help build, test, and iterate on the full product lifecycle of our Aeon-R engine systems, seeing them mature and eventually bring Terran R into space.

About the Role

We are looking for a technical expert who can help advance the state of the art of turbine design for space applications. You will collaborate closely with the propulsion development and manufacturing teams to incorporate improvements into future designs. In order to be successful in this role, you should be someone who thrives in ambiguity and is able to drive their own projects to completion. You must have the passion, tenacity and resolve to work through challenging issues unique to rocket turbopumps. We are looking for someone multifaceted, and capable of working at the interfaces of design, development, and analysis of turbomachinery. Ideally, you are someone who has come from a fast paced, aerospace environment, having completed difficult projects while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary groups.

About You

Degree in engineering or related technical field and 15+ years of relevant experience

Experience with turbine design, performing aerodynamic and structural analysis.

Experience with LCF and HCF methodologies

Experience with transient thermal/aerodynamic analysis

Experience with forced response analysis

Knowledge of industry standard turbomachinery design and analysis

Strong communication skills

Knowledge of turbopump assembly procedures, including rotor balancing, interference fits, clearance checks, structural proofing, and leak checks

Nice to haves but not required:

Experience with in-situ mode shape/ blade deformation measurement

Experience overseeing turbomachinery development and/or test campaigns

Proficiency in Siemens NX and Teamcenter

Experience in a startup or agile development environment

Experience working in a flight development program

This position will be posted for a minimum of 5 days and will remain open until a qualified candidate is hired.

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range: $185,000 — $277,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at accommodations@relativityspace.com .

Please note: Relativity Space does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate profiles, or referrals from recruitment agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited submission - via email, our website, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.