Deputy Chief Engineer, Spacecraft

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Parental leave

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is seeking a Chief Engineer to lead vehicle-level architecture, risk, and mission readiness across launch vehicles and spacecraft. You will guide trades, budgets, and cross-disciplinary integration, acting as the primary technical authority and mentoring the team.

Based at our Briggs/Briggs- area facility with some travel, you will drive engineering excellence. You will collaborate with Production, Quality Assurance, Business Development, and Operations to ensure

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related discipline.
• 5+ years hands-on engineering experience in launch vehicle/spacecraft systems.
• Strong understanding of orbital mechanics and aerospace design fundamentals.
• Ability to travel ~10% of the time for tests and launches.
• Excellent verbal/written communication and teamwork skills.
• Advanced degree preferred (MS/PhD) with leadership exposure.

Responsibilities

• Define vehicle-level architecture and interoperability for missions from LEO to the Moon.
• Lead system trades, budgets, and risk analyses across sub-systems.
• Act as primary technical authority for vehicle design and lifecycle decisions.
• Provide on-console support during operations and anomaly resolution.
• Mentor the engineering team and drive training pipelines for the Chief Engineering group.
• Coordinate with Production, Integration, and QA for seamless operations.
• Represent Firefly with customers, vendors, and program partners throughout the lifecycle.
• Lead Mission Readiness and Data Reviews to ensure mission readiness.

Skills

Leadership

Systems engineering

Orbital mechanics

Risk management

Spacecraft operations

Troubleshooting

Mechanical engineering

Communication

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's or PhD in engineering

Tools

Confluence

Jira

Bitbucket

Teamcenter

Epsilon3

Odoo

Job description

Player error

The player is having trouble. We’ll have it back up and running as soon as possible.

2x

1.5x

1.25x

1x

0.75x

0.5x

Life at Firefly

At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands‑on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.

Talk about being in the right place at the right ...

Talk about being in the right place at the right ...

On this day 57 years ago, Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

On this day 57 years ago, Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

709 4

We just reached another mile marker as we prepare ...

We just reached another mile marker as we prepare ...

Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.

Passion

Fireflies believe in perseverance, responsiveness, and mentoring others with a focus on inspiring a better future.

Fireflies act with integrity and take ownership of our actions, commitments, decisions, and outcomes.

Fireflies work in alignment across teams and communicate clearly with mutual respect for one another.

Fireflies deliver high-quality work through technical rigor and timely disciplined execution for our customers.

We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.

Space for You

• Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
• 3-month sabbatical for every 5 years of service
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
• Mental health services
• Paid military leave
• 12 weeks paid maternity leave
• 4 weeks paid spouse leave
• $20k towards family planning: fertility, surrogacy, adoption
• Dog friendly workplace

Space for Your Career

• $10k/year towards trade school or college
• Ongoing coaching to advance leadership skills

Space for Your Future

• Employee-ownership with stock bonuses
• 4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching
• $10k bonus for home purchase in Cedar Park, Texas

Job Openings

From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY:

Chief Engineering serves as the technical cornerstone of Firefly's space ecosystem vision, defining vehicle‑level architecture and capabilities that reliably deliver missions from low Earth Orbit to the Moon and beyond. Chief Engineers are charged with integrating cutting‑edge technologies with disciplined risk management to ensure mission success while maintaining the highest standards of engineering excellence. As guardians of Firefly's technical integrity, Chief Engineers bridge the gap between visionary concepts and operational reality, empowering our company to enable our world to launch, land, and operate in space. Anytime. Anywhere.

In this role, you will lead interdisciplinary optimization for your assigned program, serving as the customer‑facing technical point of contact throughout the full mission lifecycle. You'll conduct system‑level trades, analyze system commodity budgets, and develop innovative solutions that enhance vehicle capabilities. As the primary technical authority, you will ensure robust engineering rationale underpins all vehicle‑level decisions, ultimately enabling Firefly to achieve its mission of making space accessible through reliable, innovative transportation systems. Based out of our Hive Spacecraft facility, this position requires regular presence at our Production and Test facility north of Cedar Park in Briggs, TX.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Define vehicle‑level architecture, capabilities, specifications, operations, and interdisciplinary optimization in alignment with Firefly objectives
• Influence and direct configuration requirements by conducting, evaluating, and leading system‑level trades to drive innovation in vehicle design and functionality
• Analyze and optimize mass, delta V, power, and data budgets, ensuring technical feasibility and operational success
• Chair vehicle-level design and milestone reviews, holding the team to the Firefly and Program standards to meet the risk posture of the program
• Develop innovative solutions for vehicle design and operations, integrating modern technologies to improve program capabilities
• Identify creative ways to achieve standardization and commonality of component selection and integrated system designs across Firefly programs/product lines
• Own the technical risk posture for assigned program/product and missions as the authority for vehicle risk
• Actively reduce system vulnerabilities through robust root cause investigation, change management, corrective action, and risk mitigation/verification plans
• Review and validate designs, work instructions, nonconformances, test plans, and test procedures across sub-systems
• Manage program risks by identifying, mitigating, and tracking potential technical issues, while enabling cross-department/program communication of impacts risks and associated changes
• Provide real time (on-console) support for integrated operations, working to resolve live anomalies during mission operations
• Lead interdisciplinary efforts in coordination with Business Development, Engineering, Program Management, and Operations for your assigned program/product
• Collaborate with Production, Integration, and Quality Assurance departments to ensure seamless operations
• Act as the primary technical point of contact for customers, vendors, and program partners across the full lifecycle (from proposal through end of mission data reviews)
• Represent Firefly at conferences, reviews, and investor meetings
• Lead Mission Readiness and Data Reviews to ensure the vehicle and personnel are ready to support missions for assigned program/product
• Provide technical mentorship to the team and facilitate the training pipeline for the Chief Engineering team

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related discipline (e.g. computer science, mathematics, physics)
• 5+ years of hands‑on experience with engineering problem solving in design, analysis, test, or operations of launch vehicle and/or spacecraft systems
• Demonstrated ability to apply engineering fundamentals, including a strong understanding of orbital mechanics
• Ability to travel approximately 10% of the time, with higher percentages in support of environmental test and launch
• Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and written
• Flexibility regarding workflow and process
• Excellent organization skills; willingness to work with a team, share expertise, and follow instructions to accomplish established goals
• Master's or PhD degree in engineering or related discipline (e.g. computer science, mathematics, physics)
• 8+ years of professional, hands‑on experience in aerospace engineering field (design, analysis, manufacturing, test, or operations at the vehicle-level)
• Demonstrated competency with engineering design configuration, risk management, and change management
• Ability to anticipate the impacts of vehicle‑level changes to launch vehicle and/or spacecraft systems
• Experience serving as the primary technical authority over a full spacecraft lifecycle, from kickoff to mission completion
• On-console test experience or support of launch vehicle and/or spacecraft system operations
• Experience with real-time troubleshooting and anomaly resolution in high-stakes environments
• Comprehensive understanding of aerospace manufacturing processes, materials, and specifications
• Experience working in a clean room environment (e.g. ISO 14644-1:2015(E) Class 8)
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements and industry standards such as Range Safety, AS9100, and SMC Standards
• Experience with Atlassian products (Confluence, Jira, Bitbucket), Teamcenter, Epsilon3, and/or Odoo
• TS/SCI security clearance or ability to obtain one
• Planetary science experience

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.