Senior Spacecraft Platform Architect — Reusable Bus

Front Door Defense; San Jose, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 202,000 - 223,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grant

Benefits package

Three weeks paid vacation

12 paid holidays

Job summary

Muon Space is seeking a Staff Spacecraft Platform Engineer to own the reusable spacecraft bus architecture and drive platform-level decisions across multiple missions. You will lead trades among mechanical, electrical, thermal, solar/power, avionics, and software, ensuring scalable platform growth while mentoring the team.

You will work in a hybrid environment in San Jose, CA, collaborating with product, engineering, and BD to align platform roadmaps with customer needs and mission requirements.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in spacecraft or complex‑system engineering with platform ownership.
• Broad understanding of spacecraft subsystems; deep knowledge in at least one subsystem.
• Ownership and delivery of subsystems from requirements through design reviews, qualification, V&V, and launch/flight operations.
• Track record leading system trades and requirements across programs or generations.
• Strong systems‑engineering mindset and fundamentals: budgets, interfaces/ICDs, V&V.
• Strong technical leadership and cross‑functional communication.
• B.S. or higher in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Own spacecraft platform architecture and its evolution across the mission portfolio.
• Partner with BD, Product, and Engineering to ensure platform architectures align with product roadmaps and near‑term customer missions.
• Lead cross‑disciplinary system trades (mass, power, thermal, data, cost) and platform requirements development and flow‑down.
• Understand the architecture levers mapping the spacecraft HW to system/mission performance.
• Serve as the technical authority bridging mechanical, electrical, avionics, thermal, and software.
• Drive reuse, modularity, and standardization so new missions configure quickly and reliably.
• Set platform‑engineering standards and lead platform‑level design reviews, resolving cross‑subsystem interface issues.
• Mentor engineers, raise the technical bar, and help hire and grow the platform team.

Skills

Systems engineering

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Trade studies

Budget & interfaces

V&V & launch ops

Education

B.S. or higher in Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical

Job description

Muon Space is seeking a Staff Spacecraft Platform Engineer to own the reusable spacecraft bus architecture and drive platform-level decisions across multiple missions. You will lead trades among mechanical, electrical, thermal, solar/power, avionics, and software, ensuring scalable platform growth while mentoring the team.

You will work in a hybrid environment in San Jose, CA, collaborating with product, engineering, and BD to align platform roadmaps with customer needs and mission requirements.