Mechanical Designer

Mechanical Designer Onsite US Citizen Only M-F 40 hours weekly QUALIFICATIONS: 10-15 years of professional experience Mastery of Solidworks software Ability to manage large volume of drafting work combined with solid, demonstrated design experience Experience with instrumentation and support systems for large scale scientific instrumentation - experience with astronomical instrumentation for observatories is preferred Working knowledge of MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint Must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident.

Ability to work independently Ability to troubleshoot BS in Mechanical Engineering is preferred DUTIES: Provides technical expertise in the design and preparation of drawings for mechanical, electro-mechanical, optical and electrical components and assemblies for unique and/or experimental science instruments that are at, or intended to extend, state of the art. This would include the preparation of original layouts, computations, and engineering documentation for varied design features of mechanical and opto-mechanical assemblies, sub-assemblies and component parts of scientific instruments.

Translates concepts provided by engineers and/or project scientists into functional designs resulting in associated layout and detail drawings. Conceptual inputs will be in the form of rough sketches, design studies, verbal descriptions, and computer-generated models. Selects effective methods and procedures, adapts available designs and/or develops new designs according to the requirements of each assignment.

Interprets and employs conventional engineering principles, practices, guidelines, and precedents as well as NASA program requirements (where applicable) in considering design requirements including contamination, structural integrity, corrosion resistance, spacecraft charging, orbital and ground environments, coefficients of thermal expansion, machinability, weldability, formability, etc. as applicable to the design of scientific equipment and components. Performs calculations, studies, and analyses to support designs such as geometric and dimensional tolerance studies, trigonometric calculations associated' with optical layouts, mass property calculations and potential manufacturing, assembly, and optical alignment techniques. Provides engineering staff with calculation results-in either written or tabular form-such as mass properties data derived from computer generated models and tolerance studies