Cybersecurity Space Systems Engineer

Amentum•Houston, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Amentum is seeking a Cybersecurity Space Systems Engineer to work on the JETSII Contract supporting NASA’s deep space exploration efforts. This role combines space systems engineering and cybersecurity, protecting mission systems that include spacecraft, onboard computers, communications links, and supporting ground systems. The engineer will help design, build, and test cybersecurity features so NASA mission systems can detect unusual behavior, isolate threats, and recover while operating in space. The position involves threat modeling, secure spacecraft communications, flight-software supply-chain review, lightweight monitoring, automated safety responses, and cybersecurity event coordination. The engineer will evaluate engineering designs, interface control documents, and flight-software architectures against cyber-resiliency baselines, translate security goals into space-systems engineering deliverables, and conduct trade studies that balance cybersecurity with spacecraft power, computing, and communications constraints. Other duties may be assigned. This position has been posted at multiple levels; candidates may be considered at any advertised level based on experience, requirements, and business needs. The role generally requires a bachelor’s degree or equivalent certification in a related area and at least five years of experience in the field or a related area. The employee must be able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance and complete a U.S. government background investigation. Proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency may be required. The work is generally performed in an office, but may involve indoor or outdoor work depending on the task. Employees may sit or stand for extended periods and may need to lift and carry up to 25 pounds. Regular attendance is critical, and the employee must be able to work outside the normal schedule and adjust hours during peak periods and surge requirements. A 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off, is available when applicable.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or STEM field, such as aerospace, space systems, computer, software, or electrical engineering.
Typically, at least five years of experience in the field or a related area, or equivalent certification and experience as described in the posting.
Experience participating in or reviewing major design milestones such as SRR, PDR, or CDR.
Understanding of the systems-engineering lifecycle, including writing verifiable requirements, managing verification matrices (verification and validation by test, analysis, inspection, and demonstration), and configuration management.
Ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance.
Experience balancing cybersecurity needs against spacecraft constraints, including CPU limitations, thermal footprints, limited power budgets, and low telemetry bandwidth.
Experience working across disciplines and explaining cyber risks to engineers and mission leaders who may not specialize in cybersecurity.
Ability to complete a U.S. government background investigation.
Proof of U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent residency may be required.

Nice To Haves

Five to eight years of growing experience in space systems engineering.
Master’s degree in Space Systems Engineering with work focused on cybersecurity, embedded systems security, or autonomous system resiliency.
Strong understanding of real-time operating systems such as VxWorks, RTEMS, or NASA Core Flight System, and lower-level spacecraft programming in C/C++.
Experience applying defensive cybersecurity concepts directly to aerospace systems.
Experience with intrusion detection systems (IDS), SIEM, packet-capture analytics, and telemetry-log analysis adapted for resource-constrained environments.
Knowledge of how to protect onboard artificial intelligence.

Responsibilities

Conduct threat modeling across spacecraft, communication links, and ground systems using space-focused security tools and methods such as SPARTA.
Design secure communications among spacecraft internal systems using cryptographic key-management frameworks while avoiding disruption to critical operations.
Review external software and code before it is compiled into flight software to help ensure harmful content is not introduced.
Develop lightweight monitoring tools to identify unexpected behavior in telemetry, commands, or onboard systems.
Build automated safety responses that enable spacecraft to isolate threats and protect essential systems without real-time support from Earth.
Lead cross-functional teams through cybersecurity exercises or events, coordinating secure patching or flight-software overrides among ground stations, network engineering teams, and flight operations.
Evaluate engineering designs, interface control documents, and flight-software architectures for compliance with cyber-resiliency baselines.
Translate cybersecurity objectives into traditional space-systems engineering deliverables.
Perform engineering trade studies balancing cybersecurity measures with limited spacecraft power, computing, and communications resources.
Perform other duties as assigned.