Sr Systems Engineer (Flight Operations – Flight Dynamics)

Sierra Space•Louisville, CO

1d•$143,700 - $197,609•Onsite

About The Position

Sierra Space is seeking a candidate with strong experience in spacecraft flight dynamics, mission design, and operations to join the Flight Operations team. In this role, you will work towards becoming a certified Dream Chaser flight controller to support Dream Chaser missions. You'll be responsible for mission planning, mission analysis, and mission execution from our Mission Control Center in Louisville, CO. Within the Flight Operations organization, Flight Planning and Design is responsible for planning missions for the Dream Chaser program as well as supporting real-time Dream Chaser mission operations. You will utilize custom flight design tools based in FreeFlyer to assess launch and deorbit opportunities, design the spacecraft trajectories, and perform ground-based navigation. Additionally, you will work closely with hardware and software engineers, flight science analysts, and other flight control disciplines to integrate products in the form of timelines, procedures, trajectories, attitudes, etc. Additionally, you will complete training requirements and participate in training simulations on your path toward flight controller certification. Upon certification, you will provide real-time mission support from our Mission Control Center (MCC) in Louisville, CO.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Aerospace or related discipline) and typically 10+ years of relevant experience; a higher-level degree may substitute for experience
Strong background in orbital mechanics and orbit determination
Experience in performing spacecraft operations (e.g., navigation support, maneuver planning, or real-time anomaly resolution)
Demonstrated ability to guide ground navigation trades and analysis, applying subject matter expertise in statistical orbit determination
Clear and concise written and verbal communication skills
Highly organized, detail-oriented, self-starter, and problem-solver comfortable in a fast-paced, changing environment
Ability to work effectively under pressure as part of a team
Willingness and ability to pass the flight controller certification and physical, which may be a condition of continued employment.

Nice To Haves

MATLAB or Python
STK or Freeflyer
Tool development including a GUI (In any coding language)
Experience in spacecraft entry, descent and landing operations.
Technical writing: detailed process documentation.
Strong foundation in Spacecraft Attitudes

Responsibilities

Support the mission design process using the flight dynamics tool suite to perform trade studies and analysis to plan trajectories.
Use experience in ground-based navigation and statistical orbit determination processes, from conceptualization through operational flight support.
Help guide a flight dynamics team through design, development, and operational flight.
Represent Flight Planning and Design while collaborating across disciplines (e.g., GNC, systems engineering, flight operations) to integrate and validate mission design processes end-to-end.
Participate in the development and validation of the Flight Dynamics Tool Suite as an end user.