Senior Optical Systems Engineer – Space Payloads

Rocket Lab USA; Tucson (AZ); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab USA’s Space Systems division seeks a Senior Systems Engineer I/II at the Tucson, AZ site to design, develop, and test space-based electro-optical sensors and payloads. You will manage budgets, define requirements, and lead verification while working hands-on with flight hardware. Travel may be required to support missions.

The role requires a Bachelor's in engineering, active clearance, and experience across systems engineering for space platforms.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of aerospace engineering with 2+ years in development projects and 1+ year in leadership
• Active Clearance; U.S. citizenship required
• Experience with requirements management and modeling tools such as JAMA, Doors, or Cameo
• Experience developing systems for space or airborne instruments

Responsibilities

• Design, integrate, and develop space-based optical instruments, subsystems, and payloads for airborne and space platforms
• Manage technical budgets for vehicle performance and system requirements
• Provide interface specifications, CONOPS, and verification methodologies
• Collaborate across teams to support testing and data analysis; travel as needed

Skills

Systems engineering

Requirements management

Test planning

Hands-on hardware

Documentation interpretation

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

JAMA

Doors

Cameo

CAM

IPTL

Job description

Rocket Lab USA’s Space Systems division seeks a Senior Systems Engineer I/II at the Tucson, AZ site to design, develop, and test space-based electro-optical sensors and payloads. You will manage budgets, define requirements, and lead verification while working hands-on with flight hardware. Travel may be required to support missions.

The role requires a Bachelor's in engineering, active clearance, and experience across systems engineering for space platforms.