Space Flight Dynamics Engineer
About The Position
The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a Member of the Technical Staff or Senior Member of the Technical Staff to join the Earth Orbit Flight Dynamics Department within the Enterprise Effects Division. The department provides space flight mechanics expertise for launch vehicles and space vehicles, including orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, trajectory design and optimization, and trans-atmospheric flight modeling and simulation. The selected candidate will address customer flight mechanics needs through analysis, research, and development, providing deep technical solutions and collaborating with engineering partners. Customers include defense, intelligence, civil, and commercial organizations. This hybrid position is based in El Segundo, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Chantilly, Virginia; or Albuquerque, New Mexico. The selected candidate is expected to work onsite at least four days a week, as business needs allow, and travel domestically approximately 10% of the time. The role includes trajectory design and optimization for Earth-orbit missions, orbital mechanics analysis, support for launch and spacecraft operations, development of flight dynamics tools and capabilities, and research into evolving mission areas. Work may also involve contested-space applications, rendezvous and proximity operations, AI/ML/RL techniques, and collaboration on cislunar, exploration, hypersonics, missile, and other trajectory-analysis problems. The position may be filled at the Member or Senior Member level, with additional experience and demonstrated technical and communication capabilities required for the senior level.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in aeronautical or astronautical engineering, physics, applied mathematics, or a related discipline.
- At least two years of experience in flight mechanics, astrodynamics, maneuver optimization, trajectory optimization, launch-vehicle trajectory design, hypersonic-vehicle modeling, or general trajectory modeling and simulation.
- Proficiency in one or more of C, C++, Fortran, Python, Linux, and MATLAB.
- Willingness to travel domestically approximately 10% of the time.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance; U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.
- For the Senior Member level: five or more years of relevant technical work experience or a Ph.D.
- For the Senior Member level: demonstrated technical excellence in relevant job capabilities and functions.
- For the Senior Member level: ability to operate independently, including amid ambiguity, and deliver high-quality, relevant work products to a range of customers.
- For the Senior Member level: clear communication and presentation of highly technical content to audiences with varying technical familiarity, using concise language and intuitive visuals.
Nice To Haves
- Advanced degree in aeronautical or astronautical engineering, physics, applied mathematics, or a related discipline.
- Graduate-level coursework, research, or experience in orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, ascent trajectory modeling, hypersonic flight simulation, optimal control, flight mechanics, or trajectory modeling and simulation.
- Experience using or building analysis software that combines numerical methods, orbital or flight mechanics, and optimization for launch vehicles, missiles, interceptors, spacecraft, or hypersonic reentry vehicles.
- Experience with nonlinear programming, direct methods, gradient-based optimization, parameter optimization, genetic algorithms, evolutionary algorithms, heuristic optimization, indirect methods, or calculus of variations.
- Advanced algorithm-development skills, including parallel processing and scripting.
- Experience with contested-space trajectory applications, military exercises, or wargaming events.
- Current TS/SCI and/or TS/SAP access.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a TS clearance (SSBI) with SCI access is strongly preferred; applicants without it will be submitted for this clearance upon hiring.
Responsibilities
- Design and optimize trajectories for launch vehicles and spacecraft operating in Earth-centric regimes such as LEO, MEO, HEO, and GEO.
- Perform astrodynamics and orbital mechanics analyses, including orbit propagation and maneuver design and optimization for transfers, stationkeeping, graveyard, disposal, and reentry events.
- Analyze vehicles using chemical and/or electric propulsion.
- Evaluate contested mission applications to understand threat performance, assess vulnerabilities, and improve space-system resiliency.
- Explore and define the evolving Dynamic Space Operations mission area.
- Design maneuvers and orbits for Rendezvous and Proximity Operations missions with complex operational constraints.
- Develop Concepts of Operations and explore Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures, incorporating operational constraints into space-system design and maturation.
- Provide operational support for nominal launch, spacecraft deployment and transfer sequences, anomaly resolution, and emerging on-call events.
- Apply optimal control, flight mechanics, and computer science and algorithm-development skills to create customer capabilities as stand-alone services or integrable submodules.
- Combine AI/ML/RL techniques with flight mechanics modeling to assess complex analysis and decision-making trade spaces.
- Conduct research and development and build flight dynamics tools to maintain and modernize the internal tool base.
- Use external tools such as ASSET, GPOPS-II, SNOPT, POST, OTIS, Copernicus, GMAT, and EMTG where appropriate to augment internal capabilities.
- Collaborate across departments on cislunar and exploration-class orbital mechanics and trajectory optimization; hypersonics, missile, interceptor, and reentry-vehicle trajectory design; time-dependent Traveling Salesman and Facility Location problems; and integrated multidisciplinary RPO simulations.
Benefits
- Comprehensive health care and wellness plans.
- Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation.
- Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options.
- 401(k) plan with company-paid contributions of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service, plus matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested upon hire.
- Flexible spending accounts.
- Variable pay program for exceptional contributions.
- Relocation assistance.
- Professional growth and development programs.
- Education assistance programs.
- Inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
