Senior Space Systems Engineer, Manned Flight

Draper Labs; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Draper is seeking a Space Systems Engineer in Cambridge, MA to design, develop, test, and support systems for manned spaceflight and lunar activities. You will work in multi-disciplinary teams on use cases, requirements flow-down, architecture, interfaces, and verification, documenting analyses and presenting results.

A successful candidate will bring 10–15+ years of experience, strong collaboration skills, and a commitment to delivering mission-critical technology solutions with national impact.

Qualifications

• Two or more of the following: requirements management, spacecraft subsystems analysis, MBSE/CONOPs development, ICD management, analysis tools and scripting, DRM/mission model work.
• Spacecraft subsystems analysis incl. propellant budgeting, on-orbit fuel, RF link budgets, mission life estimates.
• MBSE (MagicDraw / Cameo) or CONOPs development; capturing functional flows and system behavior.
• ICD management: drafting, reviewing and maintaining clear interface baselines.
• Development and maintenance of analysis scripts (Python, MATLAB, STK, STOL).
• Author or review program data products and DRM-level models.

Responsibilities

• Independently drive solutions to complex, multidisciplinary problems aligned with customer priorities.
• Help customers shape needs and develop requirements for programs solving major technical challenges.
• Lead large multidisciplinary teams and align them toward program goals.
• Serve as SME in systems engineering and advance state-of-the-art solutions.
• Identify cross‑program risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Mentor others and contribute to depth in area of expertise.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Requirements management

Spacecraft subsystems analysis

MBSE (SysML) & CONOPs

Interface control / ICDs

Analysis tools & scripting

Mission modeling & simulations

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering/physics/mathematics

Master's degree or higher preferred

Tools

MagicDraw / Cameo

Python

MATLAB

STK / STOL

Job description

Draper is seeking a Space Systems Engineer in Cambridge, MA to design, develop, test, and support systems for manned spaceflight and lunar activities. You will work in multi-disciplinary teams on use cases, requirements flow-down, architecture, interfaces, and verification, documenting analyses and presenting results.

A successful candidate will bring 10–15+ years of experience, strong collaboration skills, and a commitment to delivering mission-critical technology solutions with national impact.