R&D Engnieer

Canopy Technologies’ mission is to manufacture humanity’s ascent. Our team advances materials and manufacturing processes to support the most challenging missions in the galaxy: re-entry from space, interplanetary travel, hypersonic weapons, and more. Canopy’s engineering centers around extreme environment materials needed to withstand heat, corrosive environments, and the harshness of space.

Job Summary: Canopy Technologies is seeking an exceptional R&D Engineer to lead the development, integration, and flight validation of next-generation materials and payload systems for extreme environments.

This role sits at the intersection of materials science, mechanical design, and experimental test. You will take novel ceramic, composite, and multi-material systems from first-principles concept through proof-of-concept, qualification, and flight demonstration. You will design hardware that survives re-entry, hypersonic heating, and harsh maritime and defense environments — and you will personally help build, test, and refine it.

This is not a narrow, single-discipline role. It requires an engineer who is equally comfortable deriving governing equations from scratch, building robust CAD models for complex assemblies, instrumenting hardware for high-temperature test, and standing in front of a torch or arc-jet facility diagnosing failure modes in real time.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, qualify, integrate, and flight-test payloads and components for re-entry and high-temperature systems
• Characterize and test advanced materials and stackups (ceramics, composites, soft goods, coatings, embedded sensors)
• Design and implement instrumentation, data acquisition, and calibration systems for high-temperature and high-dynamic testing
• Analyze experimental data to validate models, refine designs, and inform next iterations
• Perform first-principles thermal, structural, and multiphysics analyses to guide engineering decisions
• Interface with embedded systems and software to enable sensing, telemetry, control, and data capture
• Design, prototype, and integrate complex assemblies using advanced CAD tools
• Partner with Manufacturing and Production teams to transition prototypes into scalable, repeatable hardware systems
• Translate early-stage concepts into validated proof-of-concept demonstrations
• Contribute to technical proposals and capture efforts for advanced defense and space programs

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science, or related field
• 3-5 years of hands-on engineering experience developing, building, and testing hardware systems
• Experience using CAD software and producing engineering drawings to GD&T standards
• Experience planning, executing, and analyzing experimental tests
• Experience building, integrating, and using data acquisition systems to collect data from COTS sensors.
• Strong engineering first principles in solid mechanics, thermodynamics, fluids, and electronics
• Functional software ability in at least one high level programming language (Python preferred), with the ability to interface with test equipment and perform data analysis.
• Experience designing and executing project plans, managing technical scope, and coordinating cross-functional efforts to deliver hardware programs

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience thriving in a dynamic environment with a high degree of autonomy
• Experience working with advanced manufacturing equipment such as 3D printers, CNC machines, robotic systems, or automated production equipment
• Graduate-level degree in materials science or engineering, ideally with a focus in high-temperature materials or hypersonics
• Proven experience finding scrappy ways to deliver on milestones or programs ahead of schedule
• Published external literature in academic journals

Additional Requirements

• Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary
• Ability to obtain and maintain a US Government Secret security clearance
• $80,000 - $140,000 a year

Type: Full Time, Exempt (Salaried)

Reports to: President, Canopy Technologies

Hours: Core business hours

Base Location: Littleton, CO onsite M-F

Travel: <20% of the time

Work Environment

· Ability to work in office, lab, and manufacturing environments with occasional exposure to noise, dust, and temperature variations.

· Must be able to lift and carry up to 35 lbs and perform tasks involving standing, walking, bending, and manual assembly.

· Visual acuity required for reading technical drawings, inspecting components, and operating precision instruments.

· Occasional travel to customer or test sites, including outdoor or industrial settings, with adherence to company and OSHA safety protocols.

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Total compensation will also include a comprehensive