Structures Analyst
US$130,000 – US$180,000 / yr base salary
Posted 30 Mar 2026
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Expected experience
- 5–10 yrs
- Management level
- Individual contributor
- Employment
- On-Site
- Contract
- Full-time
| Base salary | US$130,000 – US$180,000 / yr |
|---|
Field of studyAerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering
Study levelBachelor's
Field of studyAerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering
Study levelMaster's
About Overview Energy
Overview Energy is a mission-driven team committed to building a new layer of energy infrastructure: satellites in geosynchronous orbit that redirect solar energy to terrestrial solar projects via passively safe near-infrared light, without the need for rectennas. We're in the earliest phase, where every structure that survives launch and years in orbit is engineered end-to-end by a small, dedicated team. Headquartered in the Northern Virginia / Washington, DC area and backed by world-class investors, we are advancing the next generation of clean energy technology.
About the Role
As Overview Energy's first dedicated Structures Analyst, you'll establish the analysis, verification, and model validation capability that future spacecraft programs will build upon. Every structure Overview Energy puts into orbit has to survive launch and years of thermal cycling. Your analysis is what stands between a design and a satellite that fails silently thousands of kilometers away. Get it right, and solar panels already sitting on the ground start producing power after dark.
Based in our Ashburn, VA, office, you will work alongside the structural, optomechanical, mechanisms and systems engineering teams running simulations, defining test requirements, developing test stands and model validation strategies, running test campaigns, and correlating what your simulation models predicted to what the structure actually did.
What you'll do:
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Build, refine and validate NASTRAN models for spacecraft structures
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Own sine, random vibration, and shock analysis across every subsystem structure headed to orbit
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Define test requirements: load levels, duration, and sensor placement for vibration and TVAC campaigns
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Drive model validation by processing test data and closing the gap between prediction and hardware performance
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Stress test structures under extreme thermal cycling and correlate strain response to model output
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Design test fixtures and stands when that's the fastest path to an answer
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Bring structural dynamics analysis fully in house, replacing work currently sent to outside contractors
You will be successful here if you:
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Reach for a first-principles hand calc before you open Nastran, and you know exactly when each tool earns its place
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Are comfortable being the only structural dynamics expert in the building and standing up that function from scratch