Senior Spaceflight Trajectory Dynamics Engineer

Rocket Lab; Littleton (CO); On-site; USD 135,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

401(k) plan

Medical insurance

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Littleton, CO is seeking a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer II to join a cross‑disciplinary team. You will design and analyze trajectories for Earth orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions, supporting mission readiness and operations with close collaboration across Systems, Ground Software, and GNC teams.

You will apply orbital mechanics expertise, use tools like STK and GMAT, and develop in‑house simulation capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Space Systems, or equivalent engineering field.
• 8+ years of experience in mission design and flight dynamics.
• Knowledge of orbital mechanics, spaceflight dynamics, and Kalman filtering.
• Experience with mission analysis tools: STK, Astrogator, GMAT, Monte, Copernicus.
• Proficiency in Python and Git; Jira experience preferred.
• U.S. citizenship required for program requirements.

Responsibilities

• Develop and analyze launch vehicle and spacecraft trajectories (ascent, orbit insertion, maneuvers).
• Perform orbital propagation, rendezvous planning, and station-keeping analyses.
• Support mission design including launch windows, delta-V budgets, contingencies.
• Interface with flight software and GNC to validate guidance profiles.
• Produce trajectory data products and support mission readiness reviews.
• Contribute to in-house flight dynamics tools and simulations; assist real-time operations.

Skills

Python

Git

Jira

Orbital mechanics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Space Systems or equivalent

Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering (nice to have)

Tools

STK

Astrogator

GMAT

Monte

Copernicus

ODTK

Orekit

Job description

Rocket Lab in Littleton, CO is seeking a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer II to join a cross‑disciplinary team. You will design and analyze trajectories for Earth orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions, supporting mission readiness and operations with close collaboration across Systems, Ground Software, and GNC teams.

You will apply orbital mechanics expertise, use tools like STK and GMAT, and develop in‑house simulation capabilities.