Flight Dynamics Engineer II — Space Trajectory & Missions

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

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical, dental & vision insurance

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Littleton, CO is seeking a Flight Dynamics Engineer II to design and analyze trajectories for Earth orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions. You will work with Systems, Ground Software, Electrical, Avionics, and GNC teams on guidance, navigation, and control tasks, delivering robust mission data products.

The role requires a Bachelor’s in Aerospace/Space Systems or related field, 2+ years in mission design, and strong Python development. U.S.

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 Carlo, 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.

Skills

Mission design

Flight dynamics

Orbital mechanics

Python programming

Git version control

Jira

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace/Space Systems or equivalent

Tools

STK

Astrogator

GMAT

Monte Carlo

Copernicus

ODTK

Orekit

Job description

Rocket Lab in Littleton, CO is seeking a Flight Dynamics Engineer II to design and analyze trajectories for Earth orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions. You will work with Systems, Ground Software, Electrical, Avionics, and GNC teams on guidance, navigation, and control tasks, delivering robust mission data products.

The role requires a Bachelor’s in Aerospace/Space Systems or related field, 2+ years in mission design, and strong Python development. U.S.