Senior Space Mission Architect & Systems Lead

Umbra; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Time Off

Medical, Dental, Vision

Stock Options

401k with company contribution

Free Parking

Job summary

Umbra in Reston/Arlington, VA seeks an experienced Space Mission Systems Engineer to lead end-to-end mission development from concept to orbit, architecting spacecraft, payloads, and ground systems while guiding cross-functional teams.

The ideal candidate has 15+ years in aerospace systems engineering, strong leadership, and the ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance; on-site collaboration with government partners is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 15+ years of professional experience in systems architecture and design for satellite or aerospace systems.
• Proven leadership ability to drive technical concepts from formulation through flight.
• Experience architecting space missions, spacecraft, payloads, and ground systems.
• Strong working knowledge of systems engineering processes across the full program lifecycle.
• Experience with flight software/firmware development and hardware/software interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional technical teams from mission concept through flight design and launch readiness.
• Architect and formulate space missions, spacecraft, and ground systems; perform trade studies.
• Develop Concepts of Operations (ConOps) and mission-level requirements.
• Manage technical budgets, interfaces, system margins, and program risk.
• Develop and execute end-to-end system integration and test plans.
• Lead system verification and validation activities to meet requirements.
• Guide teams through major milestone reviews (SRR/CDR).
• Travel ~15% to Umbra facilities and partner sites.
• Perform other professional duties as required.

Skills

Leadership

Systems engineering

Communication

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's in Engineering/CS or related

Advanced degree (MS/PhD)

Tools

STK

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Umbra in Reston/Arlington, VA seeks an experienced Space Mission Systems Engineer to lead end-to-end mission development from concept to orbit, architecting spacecraft, payloads, and ground systems while guiding cross-functional teams.

The ideal candidate has 15+ years in aerospace systems engineering, strong leadership, and the ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance; on-site collaboration with government partners is required.