Operations Systems Engineer II

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

22h•$118,872 - $143,000•Onsite

About The Position

As an Operations Systems Engineer II in the Engineering Operations for Surface Missions Group (326E), you will support the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and Mars 2020 (M2020) missions in tactical flight operations and strategic systems development. You will apply systems engineering principles to help ensure spacecraft safety, assess complex vehicle behavior during critical activities, develop automation tools, and lead anomaly investigations. The role works with engineering teams across projects under general direction and applies independent judgment to resolve significant operational challenges and optimize system performance, including spacecraft power management as degradation occurs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical discipline and typically at least 3 years of related experience, or a master's degree in a similar discipline and at least 1 year of related experience.
Extensive knowledge in one or more of the following: aerospace engineering, systems engineering, or mission systems and mission-system processes and procedures.
Experience designing, testing, and implementing strategies to optimize spacecraft activities as power degradation occurs.
Direct experience validating flight activities and sequences in spacecraft testbed environments.
Exceptional analytical capabilities and initiative.
Strong verbal and written technical communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of Laboratory and NASA policies and procedures and government regulations across a range of applications.
Hands-on experience working in spacecraft mission operations.
Broad familiarity with spaceflight engineering subsystems and end-to-end flight operations.
Ability to synthesize operational lessons learned and apply them to improve flight-team workflows.

Responsibilities

Analyze downlink data, evaluate spacecraft health and safety, and build and deliver tactical sequences for upcoming activities.
Make real-time engineering-command decisions in support of science objectives, mobility drives, and robotic-arm activities while safeguarding rover safety.
Support hardware-in-the-loop validation in MSL and/or M2020 testbeds to verify spacecraft behavior and operational safety.
Monitor, trend, and report on the performance of integrated rover hardware and software systems.
Lead multidisciplinary anomaly response teams to diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve issues involving software, hardware, and subsystem interactions.
Design and deploy strategic ground tools to streamline surface capabilities, improve operational workflows, and expand automation.
Partner with project engineering teams to deliver complex systems engineering solutions.
Apply creative problem-solving and independent judgment to evaluate technical options and resolve significant operational challenges.
Adapt and refine complex technical models to optimize system performance, including spacecraft power management as degradation occurs.