Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Engineer

Moog Inc.•Arvada, CO

2d•$115,000 - $170,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Moog’s Space and Defense Group is seeking an experienced Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Engineer to join its Space Vehicles team in Arvada, Colorado. The role leads the spacecraft propulsion subsystem throughout the full program lifecycle, from conceptual design and development through integration, testing, delivery, and on-orbit support. Applications may include spacecraft buses, a smart upper stage, an in-space transfer vehicle, and a hosted payload platform. The engineer works closely with multidisciplinary teams and provides technical leadership, supplier oversight, customer engagement, and mentorship. The position is hybrid, with a 9/80 schedule that provides every other Friday off. The stated schedule is Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week. Occasional travel and off-shift testing or support may be required. The role requires access to U.S. export-controlled information.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or a closely related technical field.
At least 5 years of relevant engineering experience, including substantial experience with spacecraft, launch vehicle, missile, or comparable flight propulsion systems.
Experience designing, analyzing, integrating, or testing propulsion systems and flight hardware.
Strong knowledge of propulsion, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, compressible flow, and pressurized-fluid systems.
Experience with propulsion components such as thrusters, tanks, pressure vessels, valves, regulators, tubing, fittings, and instrumentation.
Ability to perform system sizing and performance analyses, including delta-v, propellant quantity, water hammer, mass flow, pressure drop, and margin assessments.
Experience developing requirements, verification plans, test procedures, engineering documentation, and technical risk assessments.
Experience leading technical teams, design reviews, supplier oversight, trade studies, and anomaly investigations.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting technical information to multidisciplinary teams, leadership, customers, and suppliers.
Ability to support occasional travel and off-shift testing and support when required.

Nice To Haves

At least 7 years of direct spacecraft propulsion experience.
Master’s or doctoral degree in aerospace, mechanical, chemical, or a related engineering discipline.
Demonstrated technical ownership of spacecraft monopropellant, bipropellant, gas, green-propellant, or electric propulsion systems.
Hands-on experience with propulsion hardware testing, propellant loading, hazardous operations, launch-site processing, or on-orbit support.
Experience using propulsion, fluid, thermal, structural, or system-modeling tools.
Knowledge of applicable NASA, Department of Defense, ECSS, AIAA, ASME, or other pressure-system and spacecraft standards.
Experience overseeing suppliers, leading technical reviews and anomaly investigations, and resolving hardware nonconformances.
Familiarity with requirements-management, configuration-control, product-lifecycle, or model-based systems engineering tools.
Experience with maneuver planning, telemetry trending, or remaining-propellant estimation.

Responsibilities

Lead spacecraft propulsion system architecture, design, analysis, integration, qualification, and on-orbit support across the full program lifecycle.
Develop propulsion requirements, specifications, interfaces, schematics, verification plans, and technical documentation.
Perform system sizing, trade studies, propellant budgeting, pressure-drop and transient analyses, performance modeling, and mission maneuver assessments.
Select and integrate propulsion components, including thrusters, tanks, valves, regulators, lines, instrumentation, heaters, and flow-control devices.
Plan and support qualification, acceptance, functional, environmental, leak, proof-pressure, flow, and hot-fire testing.
Support spacecraft assembly, integration, propellant loading, pressurization, launch-site activities, and flight operations.
Conduct reliability, safety, and failure analyses; support anomaly investigations, root-cause assessments, and corrective actions.
Ensure compliance with pressure-system safety, hazardous-material handling, contamination-control, and applicable industry requirements.
Provide technical oversight of suppliers, including design reviews, manufacturing support, test-data evaluation, and nonconformance resolution.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering and program teams, participate in major design and readiness reviews, and communicate technical risks and recommendations.
Develop operational constraints and procedures; support telemetry analysis, maneuver planning, propulsion performance trending, and remaining-propellant estimation.
Support new business pursuits by developing propulsion concepts, system architectures, technical solutions, cost and schedule estimates, risk assessments, and proposal content.
Participate in customer engagements, proposal reviews, and technical presentations; evaluate mission requirements and communicate propulsion capabilities, trade-offs, and discriminators.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship while supporting program cost, schedule, risk, and proposal activities.

Benefits

Great compensation package and annual profit sharing.
Matching 401(k).
Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts.
Flexible paid time off and holidays.
Parental leave program.
Relocation assistance.
Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, Employee Assistance Plan, and other supplemental benefit coverages.
Tuition assistance.
Mentorship, coaching, leadership development, and other personal growth programs.
Inclusive culture, Employee Resource Groups, and team-building activities.