Mission Integration Engineer (Hypersonic Flight Test)

Castelion; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in defense development seeks a Mission Integration Engineer to coordinate hypersonic flight test campaigns. This role includes overseeing test operations at government ranges, developing test plans, and ensuring compliance with safety protocols. Successful candidates must have a technical background in aerospace or mechanical engineering and demonstrate strong organizational and communication skills.

Benefits

Long-term stock incentives

Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance

Three weeks of paid time off per year

Qualifications

• 2+ years of direct experience conducting flight tests at government ranges.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate hypersonic flight test operations with government test ranges.
• Develop and submit flight test plans and Range Safety data packages.
• Support mission execution and operations during test events.

Skills

Organizational Skills

Communication Skills

Problem Solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering

Bachelor’s degree in systems engineering

Tools

TAOS

Job description

About Castelion

Castelion is bringing a new approach to defense development and production: one that focuses on short, iterative design cycles, rapid testing in development, and modern commercial manufacturing strategies for production at scale. We’re designing, building, and testing next generation long range strike weapons systems to give America and its Allies a definitive edge and deter future conflicts.

Mission Integration Engineer (Hypersonic Flight Test)

We are seeking a highly organized, technically proficient Mission Integration Engineer to lead the coordination of hypersonic flight test campaigns at government test ranges. In this role, you will serve as the primary point of contact between our engineering teams and government test range personnel, driving the end-to-end planning and execution of complex flight test operations.

You will play a critical role in translating flight test requirements into executable test plans, identifying suitable test ranges that meet mission objectives, and compiling technical data packages to obtain flight approvals. Your expertise and leadership will directly impact the successful demonstration of our next-generation hypersonic systems.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Castelion’s primary interface with government test ranges to coordinate hypersonic flight test operations.
• Work closely with internal engineering teams (propulsion, GNC, avionics, structures, etc.) to understand detailed test objectives and technical constraints.
• Identify appropriate test ranges that meet trajectory, safety, instrumentation, and environmental requirements for planned missions.
• Develop and submit detailed flight test plans, Concept of Operations (CONOPS), and Range Safety data packages to obtain test range approvals.
• Lead pre-mission coordination meetings with internal stakeholders and government range personnel.
• Coordinate all logistics for flight tests, including range scheduling, approvals, asset transport, and on-site support.
• Support on-console mission execution and real-time operations during test events.
• Participate in post-flight reviews and assist with data collection, test reporting, and lessons learned.
• Utilize trajectory tools like TAOS to support mission design, range compatibility, and risk analysis.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical field.
• 2+ years of direct experience conducting flight tests at government ranges
• Deep familiarity with the planning, coordination, and execution of flight test campaigns involving missile systems, UAVs, or hypersonic platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to write and manage technical test plans and range documentation.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills for cross-functional and external coordination.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with hypersonic systems or missile defense platforms.
• Prior use of TAOS or similar trajectory tools to support test planning.
• xperience working with government stakeholders on range safety, flight approvals, and mission planning.
• Active Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Additional Requirements

• U.S. citizenship and ability to comply with ITAR and DoD security requirements.
• Ability to travel up to 25% for on-site range support and mission execution.

All employees are granted long-term stock incentives as part of their employment as Castelion. All employees receive access to comprehensive medial, vision, and dental insurance, and the company offers three weeks of paid time off per year.

Leadership Qualities

Bias to Action and Creative Problem Solving. Desire and experience questioning assumptions in ways that lead to break through ideas that are ultimately implemented. Successfully bring in applicable processes/concepts/materials from other industries to achieve efficiency gains. Ability to personally resolve minor issues in development without requiring significant support.

High Commitment, High Initiative. A successful candidate will have a genuine passion for Castelion’s mission and consistently look for ways to contribute to the company’s technical goals and prevent hardware blockers. Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere. Strong sense of accountability and integrity.

Clear Communicator. Proactively communicates blockers. Trusted in previous roles to be voice of company with regulators, suppliers, gate keepers and customers. Capable of tactfully managing relationships with stakeholders to achieve company-desired outcomes without compromising relationships. Emails, IMs and verbal interactions are logical, drive clarity, and detailed enough to eliminate ambiguity.

ITAR Requirements:

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Employment with Castelion is governed on the basis of 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.