Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer (Job ID:4630)

Valkyrie Enterprises•Huntsville, AL

17d•Onsite

About The Position

Valkyrie Enterprises is seeking a Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer in Huntsville, Alabama, contingent upon prime contractor approval, to support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Targets and Countermeasures Engineering Directorate. The role provides engineering expertise for flight termination systems (FTS) used across launch and reentry vehicles. The engineer will serve as the Range Safety expert for the Targets Program office during flight tests, Range Safety Working Groups, and flight termination testing. The position oversees requirements development, allocation, and verification for target system FTS products, including autonomous flight termination systems; performs technical surveillance of FTS hardware and software development through qualification, acceptance, integration, and final checkout; prepares technical reports; and represents government stakeholder interests in technical working groups, customer forums, and formal design reviews. The position requires an active Secret clearance and the ability to maintain it. Travel is minimal, at 15% or less, and the candidate must be willing and able to travel for mission deployments. For travel by domestic flight or access to secure federal facilities or military bases, appropriate identification credentials, such as REAL ID, must be obtained by the start of the position and maintained. Employment is contingent on successful completion of applicable pre-employment requirements, which may include background investigation, employment and education verification, drug screening, driving record review, security-clearance eligibility, and installation-access or customer-specific requirements.

Requirements

Master’s degree with at least 12 years of experience, or bachelor’s degree with at least 20 years of experience, supporting missile defense or large-scale, complex Department of Defense programs.
Demonstrated background in flight termination systems and ordnance systems.
Proficiency in flight safety analysis products, specifically RCC-319 (Flight Termination Commonality Standard) and RCC-324 (Range Safety Tracking Systems Commonality Standard).
Working knowledge of range tracking architectures, including GPS, Inertial Measurement Units (IMU), and C-band tracking.
Strong written and verbal briefing skills.
Willingness and ability to travel for mission deployments.
Active Secret security clearance and ability to maintain it.
Ability to obtain and maintain appropriate identification credentials, such as REAL ID, by the start of the position when required for domestic air travel or access to secure federal facilities or military bases.
Successful completion of applicable pre-employment requirements.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with Autonomous Flight Termination Systems (AFTS).
Hands-on flight test operations experience.
Technical background in RF systems, antennas, batteries, and ordnance devices.
10 or more years of experience in defense and aerospace.

Responsibilities

Serve as the Range Safety expert for the Targets Program office during flight tests, Range Safety Working Groups, and flight termination testing.
Oversee requirements development, allocation, and verification for target system flight termination system products, including autonomous flight termination systems.
Conduct technical surveillance of flight termination system hardware and software development, qualification, acceptance, integration, and final checkout.
Author technical reports detailing system status, analytical findings, and formal recommendations.
Represent government stakeholder interests in technical working groups, customer forums, and formal design reviews.