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

Valkyrie•Huntsville, AL

18d•Onsite

About The Position

Valkyrie Enterprises is seeking a Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer in Huntsville, Alabama, contingent upon prime contractor approval. The role supports the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Targets and Countermeasures Engineering Directorate by providing engineering expertise for flight termination systems (FTS) used across launch and reentry vehicles. The engineer serves as a Range Safety expert for the Targets Program office during flight tests, Range Safety Working Groups, and flight termination testing. The role provides oversight of FTS requirements and technical surveillance throughout development, qualification, acceptance, integration, and final checkout. It also involves preparing technical reports and representing government stakeholder interests in technical working groups, customer forums, and design reviews. The position requires an active Secret clearance and the ability to maintain it. Travel is minimal, at 15% or less. Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain appropriate identification credentials if travel or access to secure federal facilities or military bases is required. The role has physical requirements that include prolonged sitting or standing, computer work, moving between worksites, communicating with others, and moving objects weighing up to 20 pounds. Employment offers are contingent on successful completion of applicable pre-employment requirements.

Requirements

Master’s degree with at least 12 years of experience, or bachelor’s degree with more than 20 years of experience, supporting missile defense or large-scale, complex DoD 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 clearance and ability to maintain it.
Ability to obtain and maintain appropriate identification credentials when required for domestic air travel or access to secure federal facilities or military bases.

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 on behalf of the Targets Program office during flight tests, Range Safety Working Groups, and flight termination testing.
Oversee requirements development, allocation, and verification for target system FTS products, including autonomous flight termination systems.
Conduct technical surveillance of FTS 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.