Senior Space Collision Avoidance & Protection Engineer

KBR; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401K plan with company match

Medical insurance

Dental

Vision

Life insurance

AD&D

FSA

Disability

Paid time off

Flexible work schedule

Job summary

KBR is seeking an Integrated Protection Strategy Engineer – Senior in Springfield, VA to lead collision avoidance system design, validation, and risk mitigation in dynamic orbital environments.

The role requires advanced orbital mechanics expertise, experience with conjunction assessment tools, and active TS/SCI clearance. On-site work at a government facility with potential cross‑agency collaboration and frequent coordination with mission planning and operations teams.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree and many years of relevant aerospace experience.
• Expertise in orbital mechanics or astrodynamics required.
• Proficiency with conjunction assessment tools and orbital propagation software.
• Active TS/SCI clearance with adjudicated polygraph.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and validation of collision avoidance algorithms.
• Perform conjunction assessments using industry models to evaluate risk.
• Coordinate with mission ops teams to plan avoidance maneuvers.
• Analyze orbital data and propagate trajectories to predict conjunctions.
• Document collision avoidance processes, thresholds, and protocols.
• Provide technical guidance to junior engineers and analysts.
• Interface with government and commercial partners for data exchange.
• Support anomaly resolution and post-event analysis for incidents.
• Contribute to automation and accuracy improvements in SSA systems.
• Ensure compliance with space safety standards and regulations.

Skills

orbital mechanics

astrodynamics

aerospace engineering

conjunction assessment

leadership

Education

Master’s degree

Bachelor’s degree

No degree, 14 years exp.

Tools

STK

FreeFlyer

Job description

KBR is seeking an Integrated Protection Strategy Engineer – Senior in Springfield, VA to lead collision avoidance system design, validation, and risk mitigation in dynamic orbital environments.

The role requires advanced orbital mechanics expertise, experience with conjunction assessment tools, and active TS/SCI clearance. On-site work at a government facility with potential cross‑agency collaboration and frequent coordination with mission planning and operations teams.