Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I - Trajectory Design

Rocket Lab; Littleton (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Littleton, CO seeks a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I to design and analyze spacecraft trajectories across Earth orbit, lunar, and interplanetary missions. You will collaborate with Systems, Ground Software, Electrical, Avionics, Flight Software, Thermal, Propulsion, and GNC teams to solve complex issues under time pressure.

The role requires a strong background in orbital mechanics, mission design, Python, and experience with STK/Astrogator/GMAT. U.S.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Space Systems, or an equivalent Engineering or Applied Physics degree.
• 5+ years of experience in mission design and flight dynamics.
• Knowledge of orbital mechanics, including spaceflight dynamics, maneuver design, orbit determination, and Kalman filtering.
• Mission analysis with STK, Astrogator, GMAT, Monte, Copernicus, or equivalent.
• Python software development; Git version control; Jira software project management.
• U.S. citizenship is required, due to program requirements.

Responsibilities

• Develop and analyze launch vehicle and spacecraft trajectories, including ascent, orbit insertion, and orbital maneuvers.
• Perform orbital propagation, rendezvous planning, and station-keeping analysis for spacecraft operations.
• Support mission design including launch window analysis, delta-V budgets, and contingency planning.
• Interface with flight software and GNC teams to validate and optimize guidance profiles.
• Generate and deliver trajectory data products and flight dynamics support for mission readiness reviews.
• Contribute to development of in-house simulation tools and flight dynamics infrastructure.
• Support real-time mission operations including anomaly response and post-launch data analysis.

Skills

Orbital mechanics

Python

Git

Jira

Mission design

US citizenship

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace/Space Systems

Tools

STK

Astrogator

GMAT

Monte Carlo methods

Job description

Rocket Lab in Littleton, CO seeks a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I to design and analyze spacecraft trajectories across Earth orbit, lunar, and interplanetary missions. You will collaborate with Systems, Ground Software, Electrical, Avionics, Flight Software, Thermal, Propulsion, and GNC teams to solve complex issues under time pressure.

The role requires a strong background in orbital mechanics, mission design, Python, and experience with STK/Astrogator/GMAT. U.S.