Principal Mission Architect

Muon Space; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 243,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401k retirement plan

Paid vacation

Paid holidays

Job summary

Muon Space is seeking a Principal Mission Architect and mission formulation lead to direct the development of new mission architectures. You will manage a team of engineers to develop cost-effective solutions, perform mission-level analyses, and define requirements for mission and payloads.

The role requires a strong background in EO/IR or related space missions, the ability to work with customers, and travel to the Mountain View facility for in-person collaboration.

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher degree in a related engineering field with 12 years’ space mission experience
• Excellent communication, presentation, and coordination skills
• Spacecraft and space mission design experience
• Software skills in Python, Julia, Matlab, C, or C++
• Willingness to travel to Mountain View for in-person meetings and testing
• Active TS/SCI clearance or eligibility

Responsibilities

• Develop a complete mission concept based on customer needs
• Perform mission-level analysis and own top-level mission budgets
• Define requirements and design for mission and payloads
• Use software tools/code to explore engineering trade studies
• Collaborate with instrument design team for system-level trades
• Evaluate spacecraft performance and constellation configurations
• Coordinate with other engineers to ensure objectives are met

Skills

Space mission design

Spacecraft design

Mission analysis

Python

C++

Matlab

Leadership

Communication

Education

B.S. or higher in related engineering field

Job description

About the role

Muon seeks a Principal Mission Architect and mission formulation lead to join our mission development team to help direct the development of new mission architectures. The ideal candidate is a self-motivated versatile engineer with experience in EO/IR, persistent infrared or MW/MT/MD missions, who can work with customers to identify their true needs, manage a team of engineers to develop a cost-effective solution, and perform a range of mission-level analyses, develop requirements, and design a practical and cost-effective space mission.

Responsibilities

• Develop a complete mission concept based on customer needs
• Perform mission-level analysis and own all top-level mission budgets
• Requirements definition and design for the mission and a variety of mission payloads
• Leverage software tools and/or writing code to explore engineering trade studies and answer system design questions
• Understands key metrics and spacecraft and payload design trades, and can work effectively with Muon’s instrument design team
• Perform spacecraft performance and constellation configuration evaluation
• Collaborate with other discipline engineers and scientists to ensure the product meets objectives

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher degree in a related engineering field plus 12 years of experience working with space missions. Higher-level degrees count for 2 years experience each if they are in relevant topics.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and coordination skills
• Dedication to drawing conclusions based on the most important factors and data available
• Spacecraft design experience
• Space mission design experience
• Software skills in one or more of Python, Julia, Matlab, C, C++
• Travel to the Mountain View facility to support in-person meetings, build, and test
• Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week
• Active TS/SCI

Nice‑to‑have Skills

• Infrared Instrument experience or mission experience in missile warning, tracking and defense
• Experience supporting science teams to develop missions
• Experience designing constellations
• Spacecraft and/or constellation operations experience

Salary

The salary range for this role is $170,000 - $243,000, plus incentive compensation, competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.

Taking Care of Our Team

At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.

Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too. Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

ITAR/EAR Requirements

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.