Spacecraft RPO Operations Engineer — Mission Readiness

Anduril Industries; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 126,000 - 167,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Spacecraft Operations Systems Engineer for RPO to own how our spacecraft plan, rehearse, and fly close to other objects. You will validate procedures against hardware-in-the-loop testbeds and drive ops constraints back into design as they evolve.

The role supports ongoing programs within Anduril’s Space Business Line, collaborating with mission partners and customers to deliver robust capability on DoD/IC timelines.

Qualifications

• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
• Strong engineering background in aerospace/related field, with relevant domain expertise.
• 4+ years of professional spacecraft operations, mission planning, or flight dynamics experience.
• Direct RPO experience on a flown or near-flight mission: proximity operations, maneuver planning, or close-approach execution.
• Experience with pre-launch operational readiness: AI&T support, procedure validation, rehearsals, and readiness reviews.
• Ability to navigate complex systems and communicate clearly in writing.

Responsibilities

• Design and own RPO mission plans, including relative motion, approach sequencing, delta-V budgets, and timing.
• Build safety into approaches to avoid collision trajectories.
• Write flight rules and procedures for close approach; govern gates, go/no-go, custody, and screening.
• Own ops plans for spacecraft programs across all phases: LEOP to on-orbit operations.
• Drive pre-launch campaign: day-in-the-life, rehearsals, inject failures, update procedures and designs.
• Validate procedures with AI&T; test on flatsats and hardware-in-the-loop before flight hardware.
• Feed constraints back into GNC, flight software, ground software, and comms design.
• Create and analyze metrics to diagnose vehicle and campaign performance.
• Triage anomalies, determine root causes, and coordinate next steps under time pressure.
• Train operators and mission crews on RPO execution.
• Support ground testing, launch windows, and on-orbit operations.
• Coordinate licenses with agencies (FCC, NOAA) and ensure regulatory compliance.

Skills

RPO experience

Mission planning

Flight dynamics

Procedures writing

GNC integration

Day-in-the-life testing

Clear communication

Ops readiness reviews

Education

Aerospace Engineering

Astrodynamics

Computer Science

Engineering or related field

Tools

STK

Astrogator

ODTK

MATLAB

Simulink

Python

Linux

Job description

Anduril Industries is seeking a Spacecraft Operations Systems Engineer for RPO to own how our spacecraft plan, rehearse, and fly close to other objects. You will validate procedures against hardware-in-the-loop testbeds and drive ops constraints back into design as they evolve.

The role supports ongoing programs within Anduril’s Space Business Line, collaborating with mission partners and customers to deliver robust capability on DoD/IC timelines.