Space Vehicle and Operations Engineer

The Aerospace Corporation; Virginia; On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The Aerospace Corporation in Chantilly, VA is hiring a Space Vehicle and Operations Engineer (Project Engineer/Senior Project Engineer) for multi-disciplinary engineering. This full-time role requires 100% onsite presence to support space vehicle and payload system development, testing, and mission operations.

The ideal candidate brings a bachelor’s in engineering, 6 years of space program engineering experience, prior leadership or PM experience, and an active TS/SSBI/SCI clearance with U.S.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related STEM field.
• 6 years of responsible professional engineering experience on space programs.
• Active TS/SSBI/SCI clearance; U.S. citizenship required.
• Experience with development, test, and implementation of Space systems.
• Prior engineering leadership or project management experience.
• Willing to support frequent travel (typically once or twice per month).

Responsibilities

• Coordinate Aerospace technical support for space vehicle portions of an integrated system and support to on-orbit checkout and mission operations.
• Support Space Vehicle development and test.
• Provide technical leadership to Aerospace domain expert engagement in hardware development and design challenges.
• Collaborate with Aerospace counterparts external to the program office across the Enterprise.
• Participate in non-conformance, anomaly, and major technical issue response teams during Space Vehicle and Payload-related customer activities.
• Coordinate Subject Matter Expert support for milestone reviews.
• Provide on-site Aerospace presence and communicate with the customer, SETA, and contractors.
• Collaborate with SETA and government customer counterparts to meet mission needs.

Skills

Space systems

Project leadership

Engineering

Customer liaison

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space- delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

The National Systems Group serves as the technical advisor to the Intelligence Community and its mission partners involved in the collection and distribution of national and tactical intelligence, including electronics programs, advanced technologies, ground and communications, imagery programs, and systems engineering and launch.

Imagery Programs Division's (IPD) Proliferated Systems (PS) Office is looking for a Space Vehicle and Operations Engineer (Project Engineer/Senior Project Engineer - Multi-Disciplinary Engineering) with Space Vehicle, Payload Systems, Space Systems Assembly, Integration, and Test, System Verification, and Operations knowledge and experience to support next-generation major system acquisitions across multiple phases of the acquisition life cycle. This role will directly support multiple customer divisions by organizing and leading Aerospace domain expert support of system development from requirements development, design reviews, interface development, assembly, integration, test, hardware delivery, and mission operations.

Work Model

This is a full-time position based in Chantilly, VA, which requires 100% onsite work.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Coordinate Aerospace technical support for the space vehicle portions of an integrated space and ground system as well as support to on-orbit checkout activities and mission operations.
• Supporting Space Vehicle development and test
• Providing technical leadership to Aerospace domain expert engagement in hardware development and design challenges
• Collaborating with Aerospace counterparts external to the program office across the Enterprise
• Participating in non-conformance, anomaly, and major technical issue response teams during Space Vehicle and Payload-related customer activities
• Coordinating Subject Matter Expert support for milestone reviews
• Providing on-site Aerospace presence and communicating with the customer, SETA, and contractors
• Collaborating with SETA and government customer counterparts to meet mission needs

What You Need to be Successful

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical/STEM field
• 6 years of responsible professional engineering experience working on space programs
• Experience with development, test, and implementation of Space systems
• Prior engineering leadership or project management experience
• Willing to support frequent travel (typically once or twice per month)
• This position requires a current and active TS/SSBI/SCI security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

• 12 years of responsible professional engineering experience, including multi-disciplinary systems engineering and/or program management environments
• Proven expertise architecting, developing, testing, and fielding complex Space systems, including satellite platforms, payloads, ground systems, or space vehicle integration in operational mission environments
• Senior engineering leadership and program management experience, including directing multidisciplinary engineering teams, owning technical risk and schedule accountability on major space programs, and acting as the senior technical interface with government/customer stakeholders

How You Can Stand Out

• Advanced degree in Engineering or related technical field
• Experience working Space systems development and for National Security Space customers
• Technical knowledge of the current threat environment
• Understanding of and experience working with a matrixed engineering organization.
• Ability to function optimally, efficiently, and collaboratively with limited supervision
• Strong customer focused demeanor with outstanding skills in coordinating exchanges between technical staff and the customer
• Extensive experience working with the Aerospace Engineering Technology Group to deliver analyses and solutions for customers

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including