Flight Dynamics Engineer II - Orbital Trajectory Expert

Rocket Lab USA; Littleton (CO); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company stock

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Paid vacation

Parental leave

Job summary

Rocket Lab USA in Littleton, CO is seeking a Flight Dynamics Engineer II to perform trajectory design, orbital propagation, and mission analysis for Earth orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions. You will collaborate with GNC, flight software, and other engineering teams to validate guidance profiles and support mission readiness reviews.

The role requires a Bachelor's in Aerospace/Space Systems or equivalent and 2+ years in mission design, with experience in Kalman filtering and orbital

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Space Systems, or an equivalent Engineering or Applied Physics degree.
• 2+ years of experience in mission design, flight dynamics.
• Knowledge of orbital mechanics, including spaceflight dynamics, maneuver design, orbit determination, and Kalman filtering.
• 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.
• U.S. citizenship is required, due to program requirements

Responsibilities

• 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

Job description

Rocket Lab USA in Littleton, CO is seeking a Flight Dynamics Engineer II to perform trajectory design, orbital propagation, and mission analysis for Earth orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions. You will collaborate with GNC, flight software, and other engineering teams to validate guidance profiles and support mission readiness reviews.

The role requires a Bachelor's in Aerospace/Space Systems or equivalent and 2+ years in mission design, with experience in Kalman filtering and orbital