Staff Spacecraft Systems Engineer – Electronics

CesiumAstro•Westminster, CO

About The Position

The Staff Spacecraft Systems Engineer – Electronics provides technical leadership in the development, integration, verification, and lifecycle management of complex aerospace systems. The role is responsible for translating customer requirements, mission objectives, and operational concepts into system architectures, technical requirements, and engineering solutions that enable successful mission execution. Working with a high degree of independence, the engineer leads multidisciplinary efforts across the system lifecycle, from concept development through design, integration, verification, production, launch, and operational support. The role focuses on systems engineering for new electronics subsystems for CesiumAstro satellites and involves close collaboration with software, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, integration and test, mission operations, and program management teams. The engineer helps ensure systems meet technical, performance, schedule, and customer requirements while supporting sound engineering practices and technical decision-making.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline, with typically 8–12 years of relevant experience; or a related master’s degree with typically 6–8 years; or a related PhD with typically 3–5 years.
Advanced knowledge of systems engineering principles, lifecycle processes, and aerospace development practices.
Experience developing, allocating, managing, and verifying complex system and subsystem requirements.
Strong understanding of system architecture, interface management, integration, configuration management, and technical risk management.
Experience leading technical trade studies, system analyses, and design assessments.
Knowledge of verification, validation, qualification, and compliance methodologies.
Ability to translate customer requirements, mission objectives, and CONOPS into technical solutions.
Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio.
Experience with requirements management tools such as Jama, IBM DOORS, or similar.
Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering tools such as CATIA Magic/Cameo, MagicDraw, or similar.
Experience with systems modeling and simulation tools.
Experience with collaboration platforms such as Confluence, SharePoint, or similar.
Experience with configuration management and version control systems such as Git, GitLab, Bitbucket, or similar.
Experience with issue tracking tools such as Jira or similar.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.
Ability to provide technical leadership, mentor engineers, and influence cross-functional engineering decisions.
Must meet U.S. Government Space Technology Export Regulations eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, conditional resident, asylee, refugee (protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting complex aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated engineering programs.

Responsibilities

Lead development, analysis, allocation, and management of system and subsystem requirements throughout the product lifecycle.
Perform systems engineering for new electronics subsystems for CesiumAstro satellites.
Collaborate with technical design leads to develop spacecraft electronics products and integrate requirements across satellites and missions to drive design implementation.
Communicate technical needs across the spacecraft team and use flight-operations data to inform requirements in future design cycles.
Analyze customer, mission, and system-level requirements and decompose them into clear, verifiable subsystem requirements.
Maintain end-to-end traceability of subsystem requirements to customer requirements, system architecture, and Concept of Operations (CONOPS).
Translate customer requirements and operational concepts into technical requirements, system architectures, and engineering solutions.
Lead system architecture development, technical trade studies, and engineering analyses to evaluate design alternatives and optimize system performance.
Collaborate with systems, software, hardware, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, and integration teams to ensure requirements are complete, feasible, and technically sound.
Define and manage hardware, software, electrical, mechanical, thermal, and data interfaces across system elements.
Support requirements management, configuration management, baseline control, and engineering change activities throughout development.
Identify technical risks, requirement gaps, ambiguities, and integration challenges early and develop mitigation strategies.
Develop system verification and validation strategies aligned with customer requirements, system architecture, and program objectives.
Define verification methods, levels, acceptance criteria, required evidence, and configurations, including hardware setups, software loads, firmware versions, and test environments.
Lead development and maintenance of verification documentation, including verification cross-reference matrices, requirements traceability matrices, and compliance evidence packages.
Partner with Integration & Test teams to plan, coordinate, and execute system integration, qualification, environmental, and functional verification activities.
Evaluate verification results, support technical issue resolution, and drive closure of verification gaps.
Support technical reviews, design certification activities, and program milestones.
Serve as technical lead for assigned systems or major subsystems throughout the development lifecycle.
Lead systems engineering execution for assigned programs and ensure technical deliverables support program milestones and customer commitments.
Support engineering planning, technical execution, and program readiness activities; prioritize systems engineering work to meet technical objectives, schedules, and program requirements.
Lead multidisciplinary technical discussions and provide engineering guidance across cross-functional teams.
Participate in customer technical interchange meetings, architecture reviews, design reviews, and program milestone reviews.
Provide technical mentorship on requirements development, traceability, verification planning, and systems engineering practices.
Influence technical decisions through engineering analysis, trade studies, risk assessments, and data-driven recommendations.
Drive continuous improvement of systems engineering processes, documentation quality, and technical rigor.
Perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned.