Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer

Telesis; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Telesis is seeking a Principal-level Range Safety expert stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. The role supports flight tests, system safety, and verification across FTS hardware and software, including AFTS considerations.

Candidate must hold an active DoD Secret clearance, with 20+ years of DoD/defense experience or a Master’s with 12+ years, and be willing to travel for deployments.

Qualifications

• Master's degree with 12+ years’ DoD/missile defense program experience or a Bachelor’s with 20+ years.
• Active DoD Secret clearance is required.
• Experience with flight termination systems and ordnance systems.
• Familiarity with RCC-319 and RCC-324 standards.
• Willingness to travel for mission deployments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Range Safety expert during flight tests and related activities.
• Oversee requirements development, allocation and verification for target system FTS products.
• Conduct technical surveillance across hardware and software development, qualification and checkout.
• Author technical reports detailing status, findings and recommendations.
• Represent government stakeholder interests in working groups and design reviews.

Skills

Flight termination systems

Ordnance systems

Flight safety analysis

Technical briefing

Travel readiness

Education

Master's degree in a relevant field

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Job description

Requisition #: TLS-26-027 | Clearance: Active DoD Secret (US citizenship required) | Level: Principal | Experience: 20+ years | Education: Bachelor's (4-yr) | Work site: Redstone Arsenal - Huntsville, AL (on-site)

What you'll do

• Serve as Range Safety expert on behalf of the Targets Program office during flight tests, Range Safety Working Groups, and flight termination testing
• Provide oversight of requirements development, allocation and verification for target system FTS products, including autonomous flight termination systems
• Conduct technical surveillance across FTS hardware and software development, qualification, acceptance, integration, and final checkout
• Author technical reports detailing system status, analytical findings, and formal recommendations
• Represent government stakeholder interests in technical working groups, customer forums, and formal design reviews

Required qualifications

• Technical expertise: demonstrated background in flight termination systems and ordnance systems
• Education & experience: Master's degree with 12+ years of experience, or a Bachelor's degree with 20+ years of experience, supporting missile defense or large-scale, complex DoD programs
• Security clearance: active DoD Secret clearance
• Standards: proficient in flight safety analysis products, specifically RCC-319 (Flight Termination Commonality Standard) and RCC-324 (Range Safety Tracking Systems Commonality Standard)
• Tracking systems: working knowledge of range tracking architectures, including GPS, Inertial Measurement Units (IMU), and C-band tracking
• Communication & mobility: strong written and verbal briefing skills; willingness and ability to travel for mission deployments

Preferred qualifications

• Direct experience with Autonomous Flight Termination Systems (AFTS)
• Hands-on flight test operations experience
• Technical background in RF systems, antennas, batteries, and ordnance devices
• 10+ years of experience in defense and aerospace