Astrodynamics Engineer: Cislunar Dynamics & Data Synthesis

Socket.dev; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Digantara US is seeking an experienced Astrodynamics Engineer to serve as the technical authority for orbital mechanics across SDA programs in Denver, CO. You will generate synthetic datasets, validate models, and lead collaborations with research partners, ensuring robust interfaces and validation cases.

The role emphasizes the development of dynamical modeling environments, rigorous covariance treatment, and close collaboration with data science and software teams to deliver physics-grounded

Qualifications

• Demonstrated orbit determination experience across common estimation approaches including covariance and observability.
• Working knowledge of astrodynamics across regimes (LEO/GEO) and multi-body dynamics.
• Experience with sparse-observation and too-short-arc problems.
• Strong programming skills and ability to learn quickly; comfortable with Python, C/C++, MATLAB or Julia for propagator and estimator development.
• Familiarity with optical observation modeling and visibility constraints.
• Must be able to obtain and hold a U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Build and validate dynamical modeling environments spanning mission regimes from two-body to multi-body cislunar dynamics.
• Generate synthetic observation datasets for algorithm development and ML training with realistic sensing geometry and noise.
• Incorporate ephemerides and reference datasets as validation cases for synthetic data generators.
• Implement and characterize orbit-estimation chains with proper covariance handling.
• Characterize estimator convergence and observability; document results.
• Define anomalous dynamical behavior for downstream detection methods.
• Collaborate with data science and software staff to ensure meaningful training data.
• Provide physics-derived inputs to CONOPS and systems engineering teams.
• Serve as technical contact for research institution partners.

Skills

Orbit determination

Astrodynamics knowledge

Sparse-observation problems

Python

C/C++

MATLAB

Optical observation modeling

Security clearance

Education

MS or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Astrodynamics, Applied Mathematics

Tools

Python

C/C++

MATLAB

Julia

Job description

Digantara US is seeking an experienced Astrodynamics Engineer to serve as the technical authority for orbital mechanics across SDA programs in Denver, CO. You will generate synthetic datasets, validate models, and lead collaborations with research partners, ensuring robust interfaces and validation cases.

The role emphasizes the development of dynamical modeling environments, rigorous covariance treatment, and close collaboration with data science and software teams to deliver physics-grounded