Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I
As a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I based out of Rocket Lab's headquarters in Long Beach, CA, you will perform tracking, navigation, maneuver, trajectory planning, and collision avoidance design and operations for Earth orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions as part of a dynamic team with subject matter experts from Systems, Ground Software, Electrical, Avionics, Flight Software, Thermal, Propulsion, and GNC engineering disciplines. You will need to solve complex problems, at times under time critical conditions. Join a driven team of pioneers relentlessly tackling challenging projects, delivering on the impossible, and making an impact on the future of space!
What You'll Get To Do:
- Develop and analyze launch vehicle and spacecraft trajectories, including ascent, orbit insertion, and orbital maneuvers
- Perform orbital propagation, rendezvous planning, and station-keeping analysis for spacecraft operations
- Support mission design including launch window analysis, delta-V budgets, and contingency planning
- Interface with flight software and GNC teams to validate and optimize guidance profiles
- Generate and deliver trajectory data products and flight dynamics support for mission readiness reviews
- Contribute to development of in-house simulation tools and flight dynamics infrastructure
- Support real-time mission operations including anomaly response and post-launch data analysis
Qualifications You'll Bring As Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I:
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Space Systems, or Software Engineering, or an equivalent Engineering or Applied Physics degree.
- 5+ years of experience in mission design, flight dynamics.
- Understanding of orbital mechanics, Orbit determination theory.
- Mission analysis with STK, Astrogator, GMAT, Monte, Copernicus, or equivalent.
- Python software development.
- Git version control, or an equivalent version control system.
- Jira software project management or equivalent.
- Active Secret clearance, or ability to obtain and maintain one
- U.S. citizenship is required, due to program requirements
These Qualifications Would Be Nice To Have:
- Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering or related field.
- Active TS/SCI clearance
- Monte Carlo numerical simulation.
- Orbit determination analysis with ODTK, Orekit, or equivalent
- Team and/or software project management experience.
- Ability to work complex problems under time pressure.
- Ability to prioritize tasks in consultation with a range of stakeholders.