Mission Design Engineer

Outpost; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation: $150,000–$-

Annual performance-based bonuses

Equity in Outpost

401(k) with company match

Daily DoorDash lunch stipend

Pet Friendly Office

9 paid holidays

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Job summary

Outpost seeks a Senior Mission Design Engineer to define flight safety for reentry missions and lead analyses across design, GNC, aerothermal, and avionics teams in Playa Vista, CA. You will coordinate FAA interactions and shape safety cases for licenses, while guiding Monte Carlo and debris-risk studies for challenging orbital logistics missions.

The role collaborates with engineers to integrate models and tools, and to support proposals and new business with rigorous quantitative analysis.

Qualifications

• Experience with atmospheric flight trajectory simulations.
• Experience with Monte Carlo dispersion analyses and statistics.
• Strong knowledge of flight mechanics and orbital dynamics.
• Familiarity with FAA Part 450/417 requirements.
• Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or C/C++ for simulation.

Responsibilities

• Own flight safety analyses for reentry missions per 14 CFR Part 450.
• Develop and maintain reentry trajectory simulations.
• Design Monte Carlo dispersion analyses and assess debris risk.
• Coordinate NOTAMs and range airspace requests.
• Write FAA license application sections and lead discussions with FAA-AST.
• Lead flight safety during rehearsals and live ops.
• Integrate models and hazard analyses into safety case.
• Support customer proposals and new business pursuits.
• Build and automate analysis toolchain with proper verification.

Skills

Trajectory analysis

GNC

Mission design

Flight safety

Python/MATLAB/C/C++

Regulatory liaison

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/mechanical/physics

5+ years trajectory analysis or flight safety

Master's/PhD as preferred

Tools

POST2

TRAJ

3-DOF/6-DOF simulators

ORSAT/DAS/DRAMA/SCARAB or similar tools

Job description

The return lane isn’t going to build itself. Come build it with us.

Outpost is an orbital logistics company rewriting the rules of global logistics by building reusable Earth-return vehicles that unlock in-space manufacturing, on-orbit warehousing, and 60-minute global delivery through space.

Our CarryAll vehicle family returns payloads ranging from 200 kilograms to 10 metric tons, lands within 10 meters of its target, and can then be refurbished and launched again. One vehicle, many missions: responsive logistics and precision delivery for national security; commercial cargo moved with real cadence; R&D payloads flown, tested, and refined across repeatable cycles; and critical aid delivered where roads and runways can’t reach.

The demand is already here, validated through defense and civil agreements and supported by a growing pipeline of government and commercial customers. We have the customers, the team, and a clear technical path ahead of us. We’re building the return lane. Come build it with us.

The Team

The Mission Engineering team defines how each Outpost mission flies, from launch integration and on-orbit operations through deorbit, reentry, descent, and recovery. This role establishes the mission design and flight safety discipline within the team. The Senior Mission Design Engineer works directly with GNC, aerothermal, structures, avionics, and operations engineers, and represents Outpost to the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST).

Responsibilities

• Own the flight safety analysis for Outpost reentry missions in accordance with 14 CFR Part 450, including trajectory analysis (§450.117), malfunction turn and failure-mode trajectory analysis (§450.119), debris analysis (§450.121), flight hazard area analysis (§450.133), and debris risk analysis (§450.135).
• Demonstrate compliance with Part 450 public safety criteria for collective and individual expected casualty, aircraft hazard, and conditional expected casualty, and define the vehicle reliability and failure probability inputs those analyses require.
• Develop and maintain 3-DOF and 6-DOF reentry trajectory simulations covering deorbit, atmospheric entry, descent, and terminal recovery.
• Design and execute Monte Carlo dispersion analyses across vehicle, atmospheric, navigation, and operational uncertainties, and quantify landing footprints and impact probability distributions.
• Model nominal and off-nominal vehicle breakup, fragment generation, demise, and survivable debris propagation to ground and sea impact.
• Define deorbit targeting, entry corridors, recovery zones, and flight hazard areas, and support coordination of NOTAMs, NOTMARs, and range airspace requests.
• Author the flight safety analysis sections of FAA license applications, Means of Compliance, and pre-application consultation material, and lead technical discussions with the FAA-AST.
• Establish flight safety limits, mission rules, and go/no-go criteria, and serve as the flight safety lead during mission rehearsals and live operations.
• Collaborate with GNC, aerothermal, structures, and reliability engineers to integrate vehicle models, failure modes, and hazard analyses (FHA, FMEA) into the flight safety case.
• Perform mission-specific trajectory and feasibility analyses in support of customer proposals, launch provider integration, and new business pursuits.
• Build and automate the analysis toolchain, and establish verification, validation, and configuration control processes for flight safety software and data products.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in trajectory analysis, GNC, mission design, or flight safety for launch vehicles, reentry vehicles, or spacecraft; or a Master's degree with 4+ years; or a PhD with 3+ years.
• Demonstrated experience developing and running atmospheric flight trajectory simulations with POST2, TRAJ, or an equivalent 3-DOF/6-DOF simulation framework.
• Demonstrated experience designing and executing Monte Carlo dispersion analyses and interpreting results statistically.
• Strong command of flight mechanics, orbital mechanics, atmospheric entry dynamics, and probability and statistics.
• Working knowledge of FAA 14 CFR Part 450 or Part 417 flight safety requirements.
• Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or C/C++ for simulation development and data analysis.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including presentation of technical results to regulators, customers, and executive leadership.
• Ability to work on-site in Playa Vista, California, five days per week.

Preferred Experience

• Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering with a focus in GNC, astrodynamics, or hypersonics.
• Direct contribution to an FAA launch or reentry license under Part 450, including flight safety analysis submittals and FAA review cycles.
• Experience with reentry breakup and demise analysis tools such as ORSAT, DAS, DRAMA, SCARAB, or equivalent in-house tools.
• Experience with casualty and risk modeling, including population density modeling, aircraft and ship hazard analysis, and sheltering models.
• GNC background, including guidance law development, navigation filter design, or closed-loop 6-DOF simulation of entry or precision-landing vehicles.
• Experience with parafoil, parachute, or decelerator descent modeling and recovery footprint analysis.
• Experience building analysis pipelines with high-performance or cloud computing for large Monte Carlo campaigns.
• Competitive compensation: $150,000 – $180,000; (commensurate with experience).
• Additional Compensation: Annual performance-based bonuses that reward your impact.
• Shared upside: Meaningful equity in Outpost so you share directly in the value you help create.
• Comprehensive healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision coverage to keep you and your loved ones covered. We cover the base tier of medical insurance and all premiums of vision and dental.
  
• Protection when it matters: Company-provided short- and long-term disability coverage for peace of mind, plus life insurance for even more security.
• PTO: Recharge on your own terms with paid time off, plus 9 days of paid holidays.
• Invest in your future: 401(k) with company match to help you build long-term wealth.
• Fueled for the mission: Daily DoorDash lunch stipend, plus unlimited snacks, coffee, and tea to keep you energized.
• Mission that matters: Work shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders from aerospace, new space, and deep-tech industries building the future of orbital infrastructure.
• Pet Friendly Office: Bring your furry friend into the office so that they can be a part of our mission too.
• Monthly Company Happy Hours and Events: Drinks at the local bar, hibachi nights, mini golfing and more!

You must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 , or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Outpost ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.