Senior Systems Engineer II — Space Robotics Lead

Rocketlab; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee stock purchase program

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Pasadena, CA is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer II to serve as the project technical lead for complex aerospace robotic systems. You will own system requirements, architecture, interfaces, and verification, coordinating across mechanical, electrical, software, and controls teams to deliver robust solutions.

You will drive trade studies, manage ICDs, participate in formal reviews, and mentor junior engineers while supporting program management with technical inputs on schedule and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, software, robotics, or a related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of engineering experience in robotic, mechatronic, or complex electromechanical systems.
• Experience as a technical lead, cognizant engineer, project engineer, or system owner.
• Demonstrated experience across full development lifecycle: requirements, integration, and verification/validation.
• Hands-on experience integrating and troubleshooting robotics hardware and software.
• Experience coordinating software, controls, electrical, and mechanical teams to deliver integrated robotic systems.
• Strong grasp of systems engineering fundamentals: requirements management, ICDs, trade studies, risk management, and V&V.
• Experience interfacing directly with customers and leading or supporting formal technical reviews.
• U.S. citizenship required due to program requirements.

Responsibilities

• Act as the project technical lead or cognizant engineer for complex robotic systems and major subsystems.
• Own system architecture, requirements, interfaces, verification methods, and acceptance criteria throughout the development lifecycle.
• Develop, decompose, and manage system requirements and ICDs, maintaining traceability from customer/mission needs down to subsystem specifications.
• Lead cross-functional technical execution and drive major technical decisions, trades, risks, and issue closure.
• Define and manage hardware-software interfaces, communication architectures, operating modes, fault responses, and system behaviors.
• Lead integration and troubleshooting of robotic hardware, controls software, ROS/ROS2 applications, sensors, actuators, and test systems.
• Develop and maintain CONOPS, system requirements, ICDs, technical budgets, verification plans, and technical decision records.
• Plan and lead system integration, verification, validation, qualification, and acceptance activities.
• Lead formal technical reviews including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and acceptance reviews and present status to customers/leadership.

Skills

Robotics

Systems engineering

Technical leadership

Requirements management

Customer interaction

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Tools

Python

C++

MATLAB

Job description

Rocket Lab in Pasadena, CA is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer II to serve as the project technical lead for complex aerospace robotic systems. You will own system requirements, architecture, interfaces, and verification, coordinating across mechanical, electrical, software, and controls teams to deliver robust solutions.

You will drive trade studies, manage ICDs, participate in formal reviews, and mentor junior engineers while supporting program management with technical inputs on schedule and