Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer (MDA)

Mission Driven Research, Inc; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Mission Driven Research, Inc. seeks a highly skilled Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer to support the Missile Defense Agency. You will provide critical engineering expertise for flight termination systems used across launch and reentry vehicles.

Senior roles require extensive DoD program experience, active DoD Secret clearance, and proficiency with RCC-319/RCC-324 standards. Travel for deployments will be expected.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree with 12+ years in missile defense or large DoD programs.
• Bachelor’s degree with 20+ years in missile defense or large DoD programs.
• Active DoD Secret clearance.
• Flight termination systems and ordnance experience.
• Knowledge RCC-319 and RCC-324.
• GPS/IMU/C-band tracking knowledge.
• Willingness to travel for deployments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Range Safety expert for flight tests and termination testing.
• Oversee requirements development, allocation and verification for target system FTS products.
• 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 and design reviews.

Skills

Flight termination systems

Ordnance systems

Secret clearance

Briefing skills

RF systems

Antennas

Education

Master’s degree (12+ years)

Bachelor’s degree (20+ years)

Tools

RCC-319

RCC-324

Job description

MDR is seeking a highly skilled Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer to support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Targets and Countermeasures Engineering Directorate. In this role, you will provide critical engineering expertise for the flight terminations systems (FTS) used across launch and reentry vehicles.

What You'll Be Doing

• 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.

What Required Skills You'll Bring

• 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..

What Desired Skills You'll Bring

• 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.

Position Requirements

• Clearance Required: Secret
• Position Level: Principal
• FT/PT: Full Time
• Years Related Work Experience: 20
• Education Level Required: 4-yr

Mission Driven Research is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.