Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer (Job ID:4630)

Valkyrie Enterprises, Inc.; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Valkyrie Enterprises, Inc. in Huntsville, AL seeks a Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer to support the Missile Defense Agency. You will lead flight termination testing, review requirements, and coordinate across government stakeholders to ensure safe, compliant operation of FTS for launch and reentry vehicles.

The role requires a strong background in RCC standards, GPS/IMU tracking, and experience with autonomous flight termination systems. Travel to mission sites will be required.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree with 12+ years or Bachelor’s with 20+ years in missile defense or large DoD programs.
• Background in flight termination and ordnance systems.
• Proficiency with RCC-319 and RCC-324 standards.
• Knowledge of GPS, IMU, and C-band tracking architectures.
• Strong written and verbal briefing skills; willing to travel for deployments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Range Safety expert for the Targets Program during flight tests and design reviews.
• Oversee requirements development, allocation and verification for target system FTS products.
• Conduct surveillance across FTS hardware/software development, qualification, and final checkout.
• Author technical reports detailing system status and recommendations.
• Represent government stakeholders in working groups and customer forums.

Skills

Flight termination

RCC standards

GPS/IMU

Briefing skills

Education

Master’s degree with 12+ years

Bachelor’s degree with 20+ years

Tools

AFTS

Job description

Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer

Contingent upon prime contractor approval

Purpose

• Valkyrie Enterprises has need for a Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer in Huntsville, AL to support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Targets and Countermeasures Engineering Directorate
• In this role, you will deliver critical engineering expertise for the flight termination systems (FTS) used across launch and reentry vehicles

Job Description

• Serve as Range Safety expert on behalf of the Targets Program office during flight tests, Range Safety Working Groups, and flight termination testing
• Supply 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

Qualifications

• Must have a Master’s degree with at least 12+ years of experience, or a bachelor’s degree with 20+ years of experience, supporting missile defense or large-scale, complex DoD programs.
• Must have demonstrated background in flight termination systems and ordnance systems.
• Must be proficient in-flight safety analysis products, specifically RCC-319 (Flight Termination Commonality Standard) and RCC-324 (Range Safety Tracking Systems Commonality Standard).
• Must have working knowledge of range tracking architectures, including GPS, Inertial Measurement Units (IMU), and C-band tracking.
• Must have strong written and verbal briefing skills; willingness and ability to travel for mission deployments.

Desired Qualifications

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

Security Requirements

• Must have an Active Secret clearance and the ability to maintain it.

Travel Requirements

• If position requires travel by domestic flight or access to secure federal facilities/military bases, candidate must be able to obtain (by start of position) and maintain appropriate identification credentials, such as REAL ID. (More information regarding REAL ID can be found: https://www.dhs.gov/real-id )

Physical Requirements

• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing, or sitting for prolonged periods
• Able to sit and work on a computer for long periods of time
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another
• Communicating with others to exchange information
• Light work that includes moving objects up to 20 pounds

Pre-Employment Requirements

Any offer of employment with Valkyrie Enterprises is contingent upon the successful completion of all applicable pre-employment requirements. Depending on the position, these may include a criminal background investigation, employment and education verification, pre-employment drug screening, driving record review, security clearance eligibility, government installation access, and any other customer or contract-specific requirements. Failure to successfully meet any required pre-employment condition may result in the withdrawal of the contingent offer of employment.

Valkyrie strictly adheres to a policy of equal employment opportunity. This policy is based on Valkyrie’s commitment to hire and retain qualified employees consistent with position requirements; and to seek, employ, promote and treat all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy, childbirth, physical disability, mental disability, age, military status or protected veteran status, marital status, registered domestic partner or civil union status, gender (including sex stereotyping and gender identity or expression), medical condition, genetic information or sexual orientation or other protected characteristics.

Additionally, Valkyrie Enterprises provides a variety of benefits to eligible employees to support your best health, wellness, and future, to include medical/dental/vision options, company paid life and disability insurances, 401k with match, education reimbursement, as well as company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO).