Wardstone is building the next generation of space-based missile defense. We design and deploy autonomous orbital interceptors capable of defeating hypersonic and ballistic threats, a capability the U.S. and its allies urgently need but that no one has yet delivered.

At Wardstone, you will build hardware that gets tested constantly and pushed to its limits, from US Air Force assisted ground experiments to supersonic ground launched platforms to future orbital prototypes. You’ll work on systems that combine advanced sensing, guidance, high-energy physics, and spaceflight in ways few organizations on Earth attempt.

We are a small, elite engineering team moving fast to solve problems of national importance. Every engineer has massive ownership, rapid iteration cycles, and a direct impact on the direction of the company and the defense of millions of people.

If you want to work at the intersection of space, autonomy, and national security, you should join Wardstone.

We are looking for a Propulsion and High-Energy Systems Engineer to own the development of the impulse-generation systems that power our first product, Hailstorm. This includes gas generators, micro-thrusters, solid propulsion elements, high-pressure systems, fast-acting valves, detonation-assisted dispersal systems, and high-temperature/pressure fluid dynamics.

You will design, analyze, prototype, test, and iterate propulsion and dispersal hardware capable of producing extreme accelerations, high mass flow, and low latency response times.

You will work side-by-side with the founders, mechanical, electrical, and controls engineers. You will own the on-vehicle high energy systems from concept to demonstration

What You’ll Do

High-Impulse System Design

• Design/select compact propulsion and impulse systems: gas generators, cold-gas thrusters, and solid micro-motors.
• Model combustion, mass flow, thrust curves, chamber pressures, and heat transfer.
• Evaluate tradeoffs between solid, liquid, or other propulsion architectures.

High-Pressure & High-G Hardware

• Design pressure vessels, regulators, burst disks, check valves, fast-response actuators, and timing mechanisms.
• Simulate structural integrity under high G’s and perform empirical testing.
• Integrate sensors (pressure, temperature, vibration) for test instrumentation and feedback.

Dispersal & Impulse Transfer Mechanisms

• Co-design the systems responsible for deploying Wardstone’s kinetic interceptor solution.
• Model shock propagation, material acceleration, and high-velocity ejecta characteristics.
• Work closely with the detonation/energetics engineer to integrate hybrid or explosive-augmented systems.

Simulation & Analysis

• Use CFD, CEA, FEA, and custom simulation tools to evaluate propulsion behavior.
• Run data-driven design cycles: test → instrument → analyze → redesign.
• Define requirements for Δv, rise time, thrust profiles, and thermal durability.

Testing & Qualification

• Plan and execute high-G tests, pressure tests, thermal tests, and impulse characterization.
• Work with external test ranges, explosive facilities, and instrumentation teams.
• Develop test fixtures, data acquisition setups, and high-speed video capture systems.

Integration & Full System Ownership

• Collaborate with mechanical engineers on structures that withstand high impulse loads.
• Collaborate with electrical engineers on ignition, actuation, and safety interlocks.
• Collaborate with controls engineers on predictor models and impulse sequencing.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Aerospace, Mechanical, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• Demonstrated experience with propulsion design, combustion, energetics, or high-pressure systems.
• Strong modeling experience: CEA, CFD (OpenFOAM/ANSYS/COMSOL), MATLAB/Python, or equivalent.
• Hands-on test experience: ignition, valves, tanks, pressure systems, or propulsion rigs.
• Deep understanding of flow, combustion, heat transfer, and structural limits.
• US CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED

Nice to Haves

• Experience with solid motors, gas generators, pyrotechnics, shaped charges, or hybrid propulsion.
• Experience designing hardware for missiles, UAVs, rockets, or aerospace systems.
• Exposure to MIL-STD testing (thermal, vibration, shock, environmental).
• Experience with high-speed DAQ, strain gauges, thermocouples, and high-speed cameras.
• Hands-on build experience: machining, pressure plumbing, test fixture design.

Our first product, Hailstorm, integrates multiple advanced technologies:

• VLEO satellite interceptors with high maneuverability and rapid response times.
• Infrared sensing and real-time perception, enabling autonomous target detection and tracking.
• High-impulse propulsion and high-energy dispersal systems capable of generating millisecond-scale accelerations.
• Advanced guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) for midcourse correction and terminal homing.
• Physics-driven simulation environments modeling orbital mechanics, missile trajectories, thermal loads, and pellet-cloud dynamics.
• Kinetic particle-cloud intercept architecture that provides a cost-effective, scalable alternative to traditional hit-to-kill missile systems.