Spacecraft Systems Engineer IV

Firefly Aerospace•Cedar Park, TX

About The Position

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a Spacecraft Systems Engineer to support development of Blue Ghost and Elytra spacecraft throughout the product lifecycle, from concept through fabrication, testing, and flight. The role works with design engineering, manufacturing, integration, test, launch, and operations teams to deliver thoroughly tested, operationally efficient, reliable vehicles that meet system-level requirements. The Systems Engineering team is accountable for requirements, interfaces, and test planning. This engineer validates system architecture; manages technical budgets and design configuration across departments; develops test plans; verifies requirements; and supports mission operations. The role also communicates the current system configuration and status of performance, changes, schedule, and risks, translating program plans and engineering objectives into system-level results. The position may support offsite testing and demanding lunar mission operations, including 12-hour shifts.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
10+ years of focused, hands-on experience in an interdisciplinary project management or execution role on spacecraft; equivalent work experience will be considered.
Firm comprehension and demonstrated application of first principles in engineering disciplines, including orbital mechanics, controls, mechanical, structural dynamics, electrical, mechatronics, materials, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and propulsion.
Experience leading interdisciplinary project teams that include hardware and software engineers.
Strong working knowledge of ASME, MIL, ASTM, and/or NASA standards, as well as systems engineering best practices, with the ability to adapt processes to team needs.
Exceptional written and verbal communication, public speaking, and presentation skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience spanning the full lifecycle of a spacecraft mission, from SRR through mission operations.
Strong working knowledge of GNC analysis and cislunar mission planning.
Strong working knowledge of the lunar surface environment and robotics.
MS or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or an equivalent technical field.
Strong working knowledge of real-time visual navigation systems for autonomous control.
Experience designing spacecraft architectures or critical subsystems for reliability and radiation resiliency.
Strong working knowledge of fabrication and assembly methodologies, production management tools, and quality control processes.
Experience tailoring SMC/AFSPCM/91-710 equivalent range documents and understanding, documenting, and resolving technical implications and risks associated with tailoring.
Experience with Agile project management using Atlassian tools such as JIRA, Confluence, and Bitbucket.
PMP or equivalent project management experience.

Responsibilities

Create and maintain system-level designs, schematics, interface control documents, and performance budgets, including fluid, electrical, and software architectures and documents such as ICDs, ConOps, States & Modes, Sequence Diagrams, FBDs, Boundary Diagrams, Grounding/Bonding Diagrams, and mass, power, link, and dV budgets.
Own requirements development and flowdown, subsystem interfaces, and vehicle-level test plans; review all test plans for the vehicle.
Lead system-level trades, design reviews, and data reviews for the vehicle.
Be accountable for delivery of SRR and PDR, and provide critical inputs to CDR, MRR, TRR, and LRR.
Resolve issues, failures, and nonconformance reports (NCRs) that affect closure of test plans, including root-cause analysis and corrective actions.
Facilitate the change control board, risk review board, deliverable tracking, and effort estimates for the vehicle.
Maintain rapport with manufacturing and integration technicians, understand their challenges, and propose upstream opportunities for improvement.
Travel to support offsite testing.
Provide surge capacity for the operations team during demanding missions and support 12-hour shifts during lunar mission operations.
Maintain composure under pressure and foster a positive, professional, and respectful working environment.