Senior Spacecraft Operations Lead - Secret Clearance

Rocketlab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 142,000 - 213,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Comprehensive medical plans (HMO/PPO)

Dental and vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation and sick time

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA seeks a Senior Spacecraft Operations Engineer II to ensure health, safety, and optimal performance of a growing satellite fleet while meeting mission objectives for commercial and government customers.

Responsibilities include commissioning, orbit raising, routine operations, and coordinating with design, flight software, GNC, and propulsion teams. Strong software development background and a US security clearance are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (software, computer, electrical, aerospace, mechanical, or other technical field).
• 8+ years of direct experience in space mission design, satellite subsystems, ground systems, spacecraft command/control, or spacecraft operations.
• 3+ years of experience leading teams of engineers through spacecraft missions or related aerospace projects.
• 5+ years of direct software development experience (Python/Ruby/C/C++/other high-level languages).
• Active U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the program's mission operations technical lead: set the direction, plan work, and act as primary ops contact for design decisions.
• Advocate operability across the program: influence spacecraft/ground architecture for safe, efficient, autonomous operations.
• Own mission operations requirements and lead validation for spacecraft missions and system capabilities.
• Define automation strategy and develop software-driven methods for operations, testing, and data analysis.

Skills

Mission operations

Team leadership

Software development

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

Jira

CI/CD

Git

Cloud infrastructure

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA seeks a Senior Spacecraft Operations Engineer II to ensure health, safety, and optimal performance of a growing satellite fleet while meeting mission objectives for commercial and government customers.

Responsibilities include commissioning, orbit raising, routine operations, and coordinating with design, flight software, GNC, and propulsion teams. Strong software development background and a US security clearance are required.