Test Engineer

About Cowboy Space Corp:

• Mission
• Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity’s most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth.

• Background
• Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport.
• Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases.
• Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father’s work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others.
• This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation ’s team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.

The Role

How fast we can test will set how fast this program moves. You are being hired to make that cycle short: build the stands, then run them. Fluids, mechanical, instrumentation, and controls, from blank sheet through commissioning into routine operation. Hardware and software, mechanical and electrical, testing components, engines, and full stages. When something misbehaves at two in the morning, you figure out whether it's the article, the stand, or the sensor.

What You'll Do

Design and build fluid, mechanical, instrumentation, and control systems for component, engine, and stage-level test

Write test procOwn P&IDs and take fluid system designs from schematic through procurement, fabrication, and checkout

Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot those systems once live, including the electrical and software side

Safely operate high-pressure and cryogenic systems: LOX, LNG, high-pressure gas

Develop procedures people can follow under pressure, then run them as test conductor

Perform hazard analysis and set the safety controls, exclusion zones, and abort criteria for your setups

Instrument tests so they answer the question: sensor selection, calibration, DAQ, and sample rates that survive the actual event

Reduce and present test data, and drive anomalies to root cause rather than a retest

Own your stand project schedules, especially the long-lead items nobody else is watching

What We're Looking For

4-8 years of relevant test experience: propulsion, fluids, energetics, or industrial systems where a mistake had physical consequences

First-principles depth in fluids, thermo, and structures, enough to reason about a system on a whiteboard before opening a tool

Experience creating P&IDs and building the system they describe

Experience integrating and troubleshooting mechanical and electronic systems together, because that's where the failures live

Experience with high-pressure or hazardous environments, and the habits that come with it

Experience writing and operating test procedures

Enough software to be dangerous: data reduction, control sequences, scripting. Python preferred

Self-direction: you'll often be the only person who knows the state of your system

Strong writing. A procedure and a test report are both writing jobs

Willingness to own large and small tasks alike, with a humble and positive attitude

Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or similar

Nice to Have

Designing cryogenic fluid systems from scratch

Hands-on liquid rocket engine hotfire experience, on the stand rather than adjacent to it

LOX and methane or LNG specifics: cleanliness, materials compatibility, ignition

Control system work: PLCs, sequencing, interlocks, valve and actuator selection

Fabrication literacy (welding, machining, tube bending)

Structural, proof, burst, or environmental test experience alongside propulsion

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $130,000- 190,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

10 paid holidays per calendar year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance if applicable

Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants 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 ITAR here .

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.