Senior Spacecraft Operations Engineer

Rocket Lab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 173,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grant

Employee stock purchase program

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA, seeks a Principal Spacecraft Operations Engineer II to lead mission operations for a growing satellite fleet, coordinating with design, AIT, flight software, propulsion, and GNC teams to ensure health and mission objectives.

Requires 12+ years in space systems, 5+ years leading teams, and a US Secret Security Clearance; hands-on experience with ADCS, EPS, C&DH, FDIR, and software development in Python/C++. Equity and comprehensive benefits accompany this role.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering required.
• 12+ years in space mission design, satellite subsystems, ground systems, spacecraft command and control, or spacecraft operations.
• 5+ years leading teams of engineers on spacecraft missions or aerospace projects.
• Experience in on-console or operator-in-the-loop mission operations.
• Knowledge of spacecraft subsystems (ADCS, EPS, space-to-ground comms, C&DH, TCS, propulsion, FDIR).
• Software development experience (Python, C/C++, Ruby, or similar).
• Active U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the mission operations technical lead and set direction for operations.
• Advocate operability across the program and influence spacecraft/ground architecture.
• Own mission operations requirements and verification for spacecraft missions.
• Define automation strategies and develop software-driven methods for operations and data analysis.
• Design and test flight software sequences and FDIR/telemetry configurations.
• Develop ground software and automation frameworks for scalable operations.
• Manage integration, testing, and maintenance of mission operations tooling and codebases.
• Prepare interface specs, CONOPS, and contingency procedures.
• Lead validation against simulators, flatsat, HITL, SIL, and digital twins.
• Support AIT teams across spacecraft tests (TVAC, propulsion, DITL).
• Collaborate with NZ and USA teams and present at milestones and reviews.

Skills

Space mission design

Satellite subsystems

Ground systems

Spacecraft command control

Spacecraft operations

Python

C/C++

Git

CI/CD

Cloud infrastructure

US Secret Clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

Jira

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA, seeks a Principal Spacecraft Operations Engineer II to lead mission operations for a growing satellite fleet, coordinating with design, AIT, flight software, propulsion, and GNC teams to ensure health and mission objectives.

Requires 12+ years in space systems, 5+ years leading teams, and a US Secret Security Clearance; hands-on experience with ADCS, EPS, C&DH, FDIR, and software development in Python/C++. Equity and comprehensive benefits accompany this role.