Systems Engineer, Spacecraft Operations

What you'll do

• Design RPO mission plans including relative motion, approach sequencing, delta-V budgets, and communication timelines.
• Build passive safety into every approach to prevent collision trajectories during off-nominal states.
• Author flight rules and procedures for close approaches, including keep-out volumes and abort criteria.
• Manage mission operations across all phases, including LEOP, commissioning, and on-orbit checkout.
• Execute pre-launch campaigns by running day-in-the-life simulations and integrating findings into design changes.
• Validate command sequences and procedures on flatsats and hardware-in-the-loop testbeds before flight.
• Feed operational constraints back into GNC, flight software, ground software, and communication designs.
• Triage anomalies and root cause failures under time pressure while training mission crews on RPO execution.

What we're looking for

• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
• Strong engineering background in fields such as Aerospace Engineering, Astrodynamics, or Computer Science.
• 4+ years of professional experience in spacecraft operations, mission planning, or flight dynamics.
• Direct RPO experience on a flown or near-flight mission involving relative orbit design, trajectory planning, or maneuver execution.
• Experience leading spacecraft through pre-launch operational readiness, including AI&T support and mission rehearsals.
• Ability to solve complex technical problems independently and communicate clearly in writing.
• Experience with on-orbit servicing, docking, refueling, or autonomous relative navigation (preferred).
• Proficiency with tools such as STK/Astrogator, ODTK, MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or Linux systems (preferred).