Mission Payload Lead for National Security

K2Spacecorporation; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision coverage

Life insurance

Paid parental leave

Equity in company

Job summary

K2 Space seeks a Principal Mission Payload Engineer for National Security Programs to serve as the primary technical interface between K2 Space, customers, and partners, coordinating payload interfaces and test plans across the full program lifecycle.

You will collaborate with program managers and engineering teams to ensure successful mission execution and customer satisfaction, while shaping internal and external payload engineering processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of experience working in the aerospace or space industry, with spacecraft, launch vehicles, airborne systems, or payloads.
• 2+ years of technical project management and/or systems engineering experience.
• Hands-on experience developing, integrating and testing launch vehicles, spacecraft, or other aerospace systems.
• Strong understanding of mechanical, electrical, software, and power interfaces for satellite payloads.

Responsibilities

• Manage payload integration across the full satellite lifecycle; support proposals, design, development, integration, testing, launch and on-orbit commissioning.
• Serve as the primary customer interface for payload integration; lead technical discussions and represent K2 Space in design reviews.
• Develop, maintain, and negotiate payload interface control documentation; define mechanical, electrical, software, power, and mission interfaces.
• Create and execute payload interface verification and validation plans; develop testing strategies and oversee final sell-off.
• Coordinate cross-functional integration efforts with vehicle engineering, avionics, software, propulsion, thermal, and AI&T teams.
• Assist in training new team members.
• Develop common process workflows and tools for efficient operations.

Skills

Multidisciplinary engineering

Technical communication

Project management

Systems engineering

Customer interfacing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Master’s degree in engineering (nice to have)

Job description

K2 Space seeks a Principal Mission Payload Engineer for National Security Programs to serve as the primary technical interface between K2 Space, customers, and partners, coordinating payload interfaces and test plans across the full program lifecycle.

You will collaborate with program managers and engineering teams to ensure successful mission execution and customer satisfaction, while shaping internal and external payload engineering processes.