Mission Systems Engineer

K2 Space•Los Angeles, CA

11d•$100,000 - $150,000

About The Position

As a Mission Systems Engineer within National Security Programs, you’ll serve as the primary technical interface between K2 Space, customers, and partners as we develop and shape mission architectures for future and ongoing opportunities to host advanced payload capabilities onto K2’s satellite bus platform. You’ll primarily support mission level engineering for early technical engagement, requirements formulation and negotiation, concept and architecture studies, payload to bus compatibility, proposal phase activities, and program execution. In this role, you will work closely with Program Managers and key engineering disciplines to define and architect missions (mechanical, software, power, avionics, etc.) and ensure alignment to K2 Space’s technology and capabilities. You will also represent K2 Space in critical customer engagements, study reviews, and technical negotiations. The ideal candidate has strong multi-disciplinary engineering skills, hands-on experience, and excellent communication abilities to effectively collaborate with National Security customers and stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline.
5+ Years of experience working in the aerospace or space industry, working with spacecraft or space systems
Direct experience designing, developing, integrating or testing spacecraft or space systems.
Strong understanding of spacecraft subsystems, space system architectures, and mission modeling and simulation.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or above in an engineering discipline.
10+ Years of experience working in the aerospace or space industry, working with spacecraft, launch vehicles, airborne systems, or payloads
Experience working directly with National Security customers and systems
Satellite constellation modeling, simulation and analysis experience and intuitive understanding of multibody dynamics
Payload performance modeling and analysis (Electro Optical, Radio Frequency, Infrared, Communications, Networking, Position Navigation and timing etc)
Deep understanding of national security enterprise ground systems and architectures including command and control, networking, tasking, planning, scheduling, processing, dissemination, and tracking software architectures
Ability to travel up to 25% of the time

Responsibilities

Define, mature and negotiate mission concepts. Support initial payload integration studies, mission analysis, system architecture trades, system integration designs, and concept of operations development.
Develop and maintain technical documentation for system architecture, payload interface designs, spacecraft design capabilities and requirements, and concepts of operations to ensure customer requirements and architectures align with K2 Space’s technology offerings.
Serve as the primary technical interface for early customer engagement. Lead technical discussions, represent K2 Space in TEMs and study reviews, ensure customer requirements are understood, and ensure customer understands the extent of K2 Space’s capabilities.
Coordinate cross-functional early study efforts. Work closely with vehicle engineering, avionics, software, propulsion, thermal, and AI&T teams to ensure solutions are practical and executable.