Flight Dynamics Engineer III (Trajectory), Spacecraft

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.

Austin, Northern (TX, KY)

Hybrid

USD 120,000 - 190,000

Full time

9 hours ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision

Parental leave

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. in Texas is seeking a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer to design and optimize spacecraft trajectories for LEO and cislunar missions. You will develop targeting algorithms, create error budgets, and serve as a flight dynamics operator while mentoring junior engineers.

The role combines advanced mission design with hands-on operational support in a fast-paced environment, with cross-functional collaboration across the company.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, or related field.
Advanced degree in aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, or related field.
5–8 years of experience in spacecraft flight dynamics or mission design.

Responsibilities

Optimize spacecraft trajectories to satisfy mission requirements and optimize delta-V budgets.
Design and maintain mission designs from conceptual phase through operations.
Develop targeting and maneuver algorithms for mission objectives.
Create maneuver error budgets and perform sensitivity analyses.
Formulate contingency maneuvers and abort scenarios for off-nominal conditions.
Coordinate with cross-discipline teams to translate plans into executable commands.
Serve as a flight dynamics operator and mentor junior engineers.

Skills

Python

Linux

STK

GMAT

MONTE

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, or related field

Advanced degree (master's or PhD) in aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, or related field

Tools

MONTE

Git

Job description

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.

As we head into the holiday weekend, we’re proud ...

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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.

Accountability

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

Space for Your Family

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

As a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer specializing in trajectory and maneuver design at Firefly Aerospace, you will design and optimize spacecraft trajectories and maneuver sequences for operational missions spanning LEO and cislunar space. In this role, you will develop targeting algorithms, create error budgets, and serve as a flight dynamics operator while collaborating with cross‑functional teams to translate mission designs into executable operations. This position combines advanced mission design with hands‑on operational support while mentoring junior engineers in a fast‑paced, mission‑critical environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Optimize spacecraft trajectories to satisfy mission requirements while balancing delta‑V budgets, mission duration, and payload constraints
Design and maintain mission designs from the conceptual phase through the end of spacecraft mission operations
Develop algorithms to target maneuvers that achieve spacecraft mission objectives
Create maneuver error budgets and perform sensitivity analysis to assess robustness to execution uncertainties
Formulate and analyze contingency maneuver plans and abort scenarios for off‑nominal conditions
Interface with cross‑discipline teams to translate maneuver plans into executable command sequences and operational procedures
Serve as a flight dynamics operator for spacecraft missions and perform maneuver reconstruction to improve spacecraft models
Perform verification and validation of flight dynamics models and software using analytical solutions, benchmarks, flight data, and unit tests
Author technical documentation and analysis reports that communicate flight dynamics concepts and results to diverse audiences

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, or related field
5-8 years of experience in spacecraft flight dynamics with significant depth in mission design or maneuver planning
Experience supporting operational spacecraft missions through multiple mission phases
Advanced understanding of orbital mechanics theory and applications
Understanding of spacecraft attitude control and its impact on maneuver execution accuracy
Strong understanding of targeting and optimization methods
Knowledge of estimation theory and uncertainty modeling
Experience in software development and modeling/simulation for spaceflight applications
Working knowledge of Python and Linux
Proficiency with one or more commercial trajectory design software tools (STK, FreeFlyer, GMAT, or similar)
Advanced degree (master's or PhD) in aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, or related field
Expert‑level proficiency in STK for spacecraft trajectory design
Python proficiency and experience with JPL's MONTE software suite
Software engineering expertise including skills in version control (Git), code review, automated testing, documentation, and CI/CD workflows
Comprehensive knowledge of spacecraft subsystems and their impact on trajectory design and maneuver planning
Proven ability to mentor and develop junior engineers while managing technical responsibilities

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

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