Mission Design / Navigation Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory • Laurel, MD

11d

About The Position

The Mission Design / Navigation Engineer leads and participates in mission design and navigation teams supporting civil space and national security space missions from conception through flight. The role supports pre-launch mission development as well as post-launch optimization and planning, and contributes to APL’s evolving code base and independent research and development. The engineer designs and evaluates mission concepts using first principles and modern or high-performance computing methods, and provides intellectual leadership on emerging concepts and analysis methods. The position works across teams that include experts in other engineering disciplines, scientists, and program managers, and builds relationships across industry and academia. The engineer is expected to follow advances in academia and industry and apply relevant concepts to mission problems.

The primary responsibility is trajectory design for Earth, cislunar, lunar, and interplanetary space missions for civilian and Department of Defense applications. The work may address topics such as planetary tours, low-thrust trajectories, formation flight, and optical and radiometric navigation. The position requires the ability to obtain a TS/SCI security clearance; eligibility for classified access includes U.S. citizenship.

APL describes its workplace as collaborative and welcoming, with opportunities for growth and strong teammate connections. The campus is in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The posted annual pay range is $105,000–$290,000; actual compensation may vary based on location, experience, market conditions, education, training, skills, and internal parity.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Significant coursework in astrodynamics, optimization, dynamical systems, mathematics, navigation techniques, and computer science.
• At least 4 years of experience in spacecraft mission design, navigation, or another rigorous technical field.
• Possess or be willing to acquire knowledge of GPS, ground-based orbit estimation techniques, or optical navigation techniques.
• Skill in analytical and numerical computing, such as C++, Fortran, MATLAB, Python, and/or Java.
• Willingness and ability to obtain a TS/SCI security clearance; eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

• PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• At least 10 years of experience in spacecraft mission design, navigation, or another rigorous technical field.
• Experience with cloud computing, estimation theory, evolutionary algorithms, convex or stochastic optimization, or teaching related courses.
• Experience participating in agile software development projects involving many stakeholders.
• Experience with astrodynamics software environments such as Monte, STK, ODTK, Copernicus, FreeFlyer, or GMAT.
• Active Top Secret clearance or above.
• Familiarity with network access to DoD-related systems.

Responsibilities

• Design trajectories for Earth, cislunar, lunar, and interplanetary space missions for civilian and Department of Defense applications.
• Design and evaluate mission concepts using a strong understanding of first principles and modern or high-performance computing methods.
• Provide intellectual leadership to emerging mission concepts and methods of analysis.
• Serve in a vital role on projects, collaborating across teams of engineering experts, scientists, and program managers.
• Contribute to trajectory design and navigation methodologies through independent research and development.
• Contribute to APL’s evolving code base.
• Develop and leverage relationships across industry and academia to address critical challenges.
• Stay current with advances in academia and industry and apply relevant concepts to problems of interest.
• Support pre-launch mission development and post-launch optimization and planning.

Benefits

• Generous benefits, including a robust education assistance program and retirement contributions.
• Healthy work/life balance.
• Comprehensive benefits package for eligible staff, including retirement plans, paid time off, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, education assistance, and training and development.
• Potential additional compensation in the form of a sign-on bonus, relocation benefits, locality allowance, or discretionary payments for exceptional performance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level