Spacecraft Operations Engineer II

Rocket Lab Corporation • Long Beach, CA

4h • Onsite

About The Position

Based on site at Rocket Lab's headquarters in Long Beach, CA the Spacecraft Operations Engineer II is responsible for ensuring the health, safety, and optimal performance of a growing fleet of satellites while meeting mission objectives and SLAs for both commercial and government customers. This includes supporting diverse missions such as LEO constellations, interplanetary exploration, LEO rendezvous, and SDA-related deployments. Your expertise would be critical during commissioning, orbit raising, routine operations, and potentially re-entry phases, ensuring the health and safety of Rocket Lab’s expanding fleet. The Spacecraft Operations team works closely with related teams, such as spacecraft design, AIT, flight software, propulsion, GNC, flight dynamics and ground software development to help improve both the ground and satellite-based capabilities over time.
The space operations experience at Rocket Lab is unique because you will cover a multitude of roles/positions and responsibilities, with the large majority of the technical products being supplied through the vertical integration/in-house.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (software, computer, electrical, aerospace, mechanical, or other technical engineering discipline)
• 2+ years of direct experience in any of the following: space mission design, satellite subsystems, ground systems, spacecraft command control or spacecraft operations
• Understanding of key spacecraft subsystems and their associated components, including attitude determination and control, spacecraft electrical power systems, space-ground communications, on-orbit command and data handling, and thermal control.
• Understanding of the space environment, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics.
• Software development experience (Python/Ruby/C/C++/other high-level languages).
• U.S. citizenship required due to program requirements
• TS/SCI Clearance Required

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or PhD engineering in engineering (software, computer, electrical, aerospace, mechanical, or other technical engineering discipline)
• Prior experience in spacecraft operations
• Prior experience in satellite system design
• Prior experience in satellite ground systems
• Exposure to modern development practices – GIT, CI/CD, cloud infrastructure
• Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) Testing: Exposure to testing frameworks that simulate software behavior in operational environments. ·
• Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Testing: Familiarity with testing frameworks that integrate software and hardware systems.

Responsibilities

• Leverage automation as a key enabler to operate spacecraft, focusing on software-driven solutions for efficient and reliable mission execution.
• Design, develop and test ground software for long term space operations: ground scripting for robust and automated ops
• Design, develop and test flight software sequences and FDIR/telemetry configuration to ensure spacecraft health and fault management through software-driven processes.
• Maintain the continuous integration and testing of our operational code
• Ensure the on-call or shifts of operations
• Develop test methods and data analysis
• Develop interface specifications, CONOPS, and other design documents
• Run validation against spacecraft simulation tools: flatsat, HITL, etc.
• Support AIT teams across multiple spacecraft integrated tests (TVAC, propulsion stack, DITL, …)
• Perform requirements validation and verification for subsystems and spacecraft missions
• Generate and maintain requirements for spacecraft Missions including the creation and disposition
• Provide program and product support to team leads and program managers and be a key technical interface between the Auckland, NZ and Long Beach, USA engineering teams

Benefits

• Base salary is just one component of our total rewards package at Rocket Lab. Employees may also receive company equity and access to a robust benefits package including: top tier medical HMO, PPO & a 100% company-sponsored medical HSA plan option, dental and vision coverage, 3 weeks paid vacation and 5 days sick leave per year, 11 paid holidays per year, flexible spending and dependent care savings accounts, paid parental leave, disability insurance, life insurance, and access to a 401(k) retirement plan with company match. Other perks include: Discounted employee stock purchase program, subsidized EV charging stations, onsite gym, food and drinks, and other discounts.
• Eligibility for benefits may vary based on employment status, please check with your recruiter for a comprehensive list of the benefits available for this role. Benefit programs are subject to change at the company’s discretion.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level