Sr. Flight Dynamics Engineer

MaC VC; Burlingame (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive work environment

Commitment to diversity

Job summary

A leading navigational intelligence company in California seeks a Sr. Flight Dynamics Engineer to design and analyze satellite constellations. This role involves defining orbital strategies and ensuring collision avoidance. The ideal candidate has over 7 years in the satellite industry, strong skills in orbital mechanics, and proficiency with industry tools. This position offers an inclusive work environment, prioritizing diversity among its employees.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in the spacecraft or satellite industry.
• Strong foundation in orbital mechanics and astrodynamics.
• Solid understanding of orbital perturbations and their impacts.
• Familiarity with orbital perturbations (J2, atmospheric drag, SRP, third-body effects) and their impact on long-term orbital behavior.

Responsibilities

• Design and analyze constellation architectures for LEO satellites.
• Define station-keeping strategies for a multi-satellite constellation.
• Perform collision risk analysis and develop avoidance plans.
• Generate, validate, and maintain orbital state products, including TLEs and high-fidelity ephemerides.
• Plan and optimize orbit insertion, phasing, station-keeping, and end-of-life disposal maneuvers while managing propellant usage and operational constraints.
• Perform conjunction assessment and collision risk analysis; develop collision avoidance maneuver plans.
• Partner with mission operations, spacecraft systems, GNC, and software teams to ensure safe orbital behavior across the constellation.

Skills

Orbital mechanics

Astrodynamics

Flight dynamics analysis

Scripting with Python

Maneuver planning

Tools

STK

GMAT

FreeFlyer

ODTK

Job description

Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth.

With Pulsar – the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit – Xona will offer a future-proof, backwards-compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection.

We are seeking a Sr. Flight Dynamics Engineer to support the design, deployment, and ongoing operations of a large LEO satellite constellation. This role owns constellation architecture, orbital analysis, maneuver planning, collision avoidance, and long-term orbital maintenance across the full mission lifecycle from early design through on-orbit operations.

What You’ll Do

• Design and analyze constellation architectures, including orbital regimes, plane spacing, phasing strategies, and deployment concepts

• Perform trade studies for orbit selection (altitude, inclination, RAAN distribution, phasing) to meet coverage, lifetime, and regulatory requirements

• Define station-keeping strategies and long-term orbit maintenance concepts for a large multi-satellite constellation

• Generate, validate, and maintain orbital state products, including TLEs and high-fidelity ephemerides

• Plan and optimize orbit insertion, phasing, station-keeping, and end-of-life disposal maneuvers while managing propellant usage and operational constraints

• Perform conjunction assessment and collision risk analysis; develop collision avoidance (COLA) maneuver plans

• Partner closely with mission operations, spacecraft systems, GNC, and software teams to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant orbital behavior across the constellation

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in the spacecraft or satellite industry supporting LEO or MEO constellation missions

• Strong foundation in orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, and flight dynamics analysis

• Proficiency with industry-standard tools such as STK, GMAT, FreeFlyer, or equivalent

• Experience with orbit determination and estimation tools (e.g., ODTK or similar)

• Solid understanding of orbital perturbations (J2, atmospheric drag, SRP, third-body effects) and their impact on long-term orbital behavior

• Experience analyzing spacecraft dynamics, control authority, and propulsion performance as they relate to trajectory design and constellation geometry

• Familiarity with conjunction assessment, collision avoidance workflows, and regulatory/compliance considerations (e.g., debris mitigation, SpaceTrack, SDS)

Desired Qualifications

• Experience supporting on-orbit operations for large, multi-plane constellations

• Hands-on involvement in maneuver planning and execution during flight operations

• Proficiency with scripting and analysis tools such as Python, MATLAB, or Bash

• Experience working cross-functionally with GNC, mission ops, and flight software teams

• Familiarity with regulatory interfaces and operational coordination with external entities

For U.S. Roles: To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

For U.K. Roles: To comply with U.K. regulations, this role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC).

For Canada Roles: Successful candidates must obtain and hold a security clearance at the reliability status level, and pass security assessment for the Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP) and ITAR.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.