Flight Dynamics Engineer

The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospace’s strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise. The division leverages a broad array of engineering disciplines against a dynamic portfolio of programs, customers, and national challenges. EED spans the capability lifecycle from concept and architecture design to performance assessment to application of space and space-enabled capabilities. 

As a core component of EED, the Earth Orbit Flight Dynamics Department (EOFDD) provides flight mechanics expertise for launch vehicles and space vehicles. Relevant skills include orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, trajectory design and optimization, and atmospheric flight modeling and simulation. We are looking for a Senior Member of the Technical Staff or Engineering Specialist to join the EOFDD team. The selected candidate will provide expertise for a wide range of customer flight mechanics needs, supporting both analysis and research and development requests. The work will require candidates to provide deep technical solutions while also collaborating with engineering partners to facilitate integrated solutions for our customers’ hardest problems. Customers will include defense, intelligence, and civil and commercial organizations.  

Work Model 

• This position will be a hybrid work model based in El Segundo, CA, Colorado Springs, CO, Chantilly, VA, or Albuquerque, NM, with the expectation that the selected candidate works at least 4 days a week onsite, as the business needs allow.   

What You’ll Be Doing  

Primary Support 

• Trajectory design and optimization for launch vehicles and spacecraft for missions operating in LEO, MEO, HEO, GEO, and other earth-centric regimes 

• Astrodynamics and orbital mechanics analysis including orbit propagation and maneuver design and optimization for orbit transfer, station keeping, graveyard, disposal, and reentry events  

• Evaluating contested missions applications for space systems to understand threat performance, assess vulnerabilities, and improve system resiliency  

• Develop space warfighting tactics aligned to the Chief of Space Operations (CSO) and Commander of US SPACECOM priorities by providing technical, operational, and risk assessments 

• Maneuver and orbit design, selection, and optimization for missions that support Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) objectives with complex operational constraints 

• Developing Concepts of Operations (CONOPS), exploring Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), and incorporating operational constraints into the design and maturation of space systems  

• Providing operational support for nominal launch and spacecraft deployment and transfer sequences, anomaly resolution, and on-call emerging events 

• Utilizing optimal control, flight mechanics, and computer science/algorithm development skills to create new capabilities and modernize existing capabilities to service customer requests as stand-alone services and/or ready-to-integrate submodules 

• Leveraging external tools like ASSET, GPOPS-II, SNOPT, POST, OTIS, Copernicus, GMAT, EMTG, etc. where appropriate to augment internally developed capabilities 

• Communicating effectively with customers and management through timely reporting of technical issues, analysis reports, and recommendations 

Additional inter-department partnership collaborations opportunities: 

• Cislunar and exploration-class orbital mechanics analysis and trajectory optimization  

• Hypersonics, missiles, interceptors, and reentry vehicle trajectory design and optimization 

• Time-dependent Traveling Salesman Problems and Facility Location Problem analysis 

• Integrated, multi-disciplinary RPO system simulations 

What You Need to be Successful  

Minimum Requirements for the Senior Member of the Technical Staff – Flight Mechanics position: 

• Bachelor’s degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering, physics or applied mathematics, or related disciplines 

• Five or more years of experience in flight mechanics, astrodynamics, maneuver optimization, trajectory optimization, launch vehicle trajectory design, hypersonic vehicle modeling, or general trajectory modeling and simulation 

• Experience in space-relevant TTPs development, operational planning, or battle management 

• Proficiency in one or more of the following programming languages and environments: C, C++, Fortran, Python, Linux, Java, and/or MATLAB 

• The ability to operate independently, often in the presence of ambiguity, and still deliver high-quality, innovative, and specialized end products to a range of customers  

• Willing to travel domestically approx. 10%  

• The ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance is required. U.S citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.  

• The ability to obtain and maintain a TS clearance (SSBI) with SCI access is strongly preferred (applicant will be submitted for this clearance upon hiring if they do not currently possess it) 

In addition to the above, the minimum requirements for the Engineering Specialist – Flight Mechanics  position include: 

• Eight or more years of experience of relevant technical work or PhD 

• Demonstrated technical excellence in the relevant job capabilities and functions 

• The ability to operate independently, often in the presence of ambiguity, and still deliver high quality, relevant end products to a range of customers  

• The ability to build and perform on multi-disciplinary teams to deliver integrated analysis products 

How You Can Stand Out  

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these: 

• Advanced degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering, physics or applied mathematics, or related disciplines is strongly desired 

• Graduate level course work, research and/or experience in one or more of the following areas: orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, ascent trajectory modeling, hypersonic flight simulation, optimal control, flight mechanics, and/or trajectory modeling and simulation 

• Experience using or building analysis software to combine numerical methods, orbital or flight mechanics, and optimization approaches for launch vehicles, missiles, interceptors, spacecraft, or reentry vehicles (hypersonics) 

• Familiarity with National Security Space Enterprise operational communities and experience with translating warfighter needs into analysis frameworks. 

• Experience with nonlinear programming (non-linear programming), direct methods, gradient-based optimization, parameter optimization, genetic algorithms, evolutionary algorithms, heuristic optimization methods, indirect methods, and/or calculus of variations 

• Advanced algorithm development skills to include parallel processing and scripting experience 

• Experience with contested space trajectory applications, military exercises, and wargaming events  

• Current TS/SCI and/or TS/SAP Access