Senior Spaceflight Trajectory & Dynamics Engineer

Rocket Lab Corporation; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Stock Purchase Program (15% 5

Top-tier medical plans

Dental and vision coverage

Paid vacation and sick time

11 paid holidays

Flexible spending accounts

Paid parental leave

Disability and life insurance

401(k) with company match

Subsidized EV charging

Onsite fitness centers

Discounted gym memberships

Complimentary snacks and beverages

50% discount on company merch

Other employee discounts

Job summary

Rocket Lab Corporation’s Space Systems team seeks a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I based in Long Beach, CA. You will design and analyze trajectories for Earth-orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to ensure mission success.

Responsibilities include ascent and orbit insertion analysis, rendezvous planning, and real-time support, with a strong emphasis on validating guidance profiles and building in-house simulation tools.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Space Systems, or Software Engineering, or an equivalent Engineering or Applied Physics degree.
• 5+ years of experience in mission design, flight dynamics.
• Understanding of orbital mechanics, Orbit determination theory.
• Mission analysis with STK, Astrogator, GMAT, Monte, Copernicus, or equivalent.
• Python software development.
• Git version control, or an equivalent version control system.
• Jira software project management or equivalent.
• Active Secret clearance, or ability to obtain and maintain one
• U.S. citizenship is required, due to program requirements

Responsibilities

• Develop and analyze launch vehicle and spacecraft trajectories, including ascent, orbit insertion, and orbital maneuvers
• Perform orbital propagation, rendezvous planning, and station-keeping analysis for spacecraft operations
• Support mission design including launch window analysis, delta-V budgets, and contingency planning
• Interface with flight software and GNC teams to validate and optimize guidance profiles
• Generate and deliver trajectory data products and flight dynamics support for mission readiness reviews
• Contribute to development of in-house simulation tools and flight dynamics infrastructure
• Support real-time mission operations including anomaly response and post-launch data analysis

Skills

Orbital mechanics understanding

Python

Git

Jira

US citizenship

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Space Systems, or Software Engineering

Master’s degree in Aerospace or related field

Tools

STK

Astrogator

GMAT

Orekit

Job description

Rocket Lab Corporation’s Space Systems team seeks a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I based in Long Beach, CA. You will design and analyze trajectories for Earth-orbiting, lunar, and interplanetary missions, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to ensure mission success.

Responsibilities include ascent and orbit insertion analysis, rendezvous planning, and real-time support, with a strong emphasis on validating guidance profiles and building in-house simulation tools.