Senior Mission Architect Engineer — On-Orbit Test Lead

Northrop Grumman; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 129,000 - 194,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Senior Principal Mission Architect Engineer in Colorado Springs to drive on-orbit test activities and mission planning for critical space missions. You will coordinate with engineers, vendors, and analysts to ensure feasible, safe mission plans and successful test executions.

The role requires a strong background in astrodynamics, orbital mechanics, and mission planning with hands-on experience in simulations and test leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or STEM with 8 years of related experience; 6 years with a Master’s; 4 years with a PhD
• “Active Top-Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance at time of application”
• Experience with mission planning and/or orbital analyst responsibilities focusing on RPO
• Familiarity with physics-based simulations and post-processing results
• Experience in astrodynamics and orbital mechanics for Earth-orbiting vehicles, preferably GEO
• Strong understanding of relative motion problems and mission planning for RPO missions
• Experience with navigation filters and image processing techniques algorithms
• Knowledge of satellite operations engineering disciplines including attitude control, power management, thermal, propulsion, and data handling

Responsibilities

• Drive and develop On-Orbit Test activities including mission planning, scenario development, dry-run/rehearsal and test execution
• Perform pre-test and execution actions including mission plan creation & review, safety of flight analysis, and vehicle phasing analysis
• Integrate with vendors and engineers to ensure test plan meets customer intent
• Conduct analysis on test feasibility considering limits, fuel usage, and vehicle capabilities
• Lead on-console operations during On-Orbit Test activities as Test Director
• Lead testing using simulators and resolve discrepancies

Skills

Mission planning

Orbital analysis

Astrodynamics

Python

MATLAB

C/C++

Simulation

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or STEM

Master's degree

PhD

Tools

FreeFlyer

GNC algorithms

Numerical propagators

Job description

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Senior Principal Mission Architect Engineer in Colorado Springs to drive on-orbit test activities and mission planning for critical space missions. You will coordinate with engineers, vendors, and analysts to ensure feasible, safe mission plans and successful test executions.

The role requires a strong background in astrodynamics, orbital mechanics, and mission planning with hands-on experience in simulations and test leadership.