Systems Engineer III/IV (Launch Vehicles)

Firefly Aerospace; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plan

Dental & Vision

Parental leave

Relocation

Education assistance

Short-term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a Systems Engineer III/IV for Launch Vehicles to shape requirements, verify interfaces, and mature architectures from definition through production and flight. You will collaborate with Stage REs, System Configuration Engineers, and cross-functional teams to ensure a reliable, cost-effective vehicle that meets mission objectives.

A successful candidate will apply first-principles analysis across orbital mechanics, controls, structures, and propulsion, mentor junior

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering or related field.
• 10+ years in spacecraft/system engineering roles.
• Strong grounding in first principles across multiple disciplines.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and ensuring compliance with standards.
• Familiarity with NASA/ASME/NASA standards is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own traceability across requirements, design, and test data for the vehicle.
• Lead or contribute to root cause investigations.
• Support change control and risk review boards.
• Develop analyses (FHA, FTA, FMECA) and interface control documents.
• Mentor engineers and drive process improvements.

Skills

Interdisciplinary execution

Strong communication

Public speaking

Leadership

Problem solving

Education

BS in Aerospace Engineering or related field

Tools

Python

C++

JIRA

Confluence

Bitbucket

Job description

About Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

About Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

Summary

We welcome you to join the Firefly Systems Engineering Team as a Systems Engineer III/IV for Launch Vehicles, to leverage your creative and technical expertise at the vehicle level over the whole product lifecycle from requirement definition through production, verification & flight. On the Systems Engineering team, you will work directly with the Stage REs and System Configuration Engineers to establish high confidence in the reliability of our vehicles with a right-sized approach, requiring minimal manual overhead for each mission. You will work with design engineering, manufacturing, integration, test, and launch teams to ensure the production of a thoroughly tested, operationally efficient, and reliable vehicle that meets system-level requirements. The Systems Engineering team is accountable for requirements, interfaces, and test planning; we validate system architectures, manage technical budgets and design configurations, develop test plans, ensure verification of requirements, and support mission operations. You will be expected to be able to speak knowledgeably about the current system configuration and provide status updates on performance, changes, schedule, and risks. It will be your job to translate program plans and the engineering teams’ vision into mission success. A successful candidate will be a self-starter, elevate their teammates, and be passionate about the space industry.

Responsibilities

To deliver a robust, reliable, and economical product, successfully completing all mission requirements:

• Own the traceability, vehicle-wide, between requirements, design data, qualification/acceptance test data, performance capabilities, and as-built records. Serve as internal auditor and champion iterative improvements to ensure rapid auditability of every essential verification activity performed for your vehicle.Innovate Firefly's Mission Assurance process, creating structured flexibility to meet the needs of programs - ranging from Class D Missions to Category 2 Launch Vehicles - applying the appropriate level of rigor.
• Support Root Cause Investigations, by contribution or by leading them directly, as appropriate.
• Support the Systems Engineering team in driving steady progress in the change control and risk review boards, mentor owners of changes and risks to meet the standard of rigor and responsiveness as appropriate.
• Set the standard for actionable, high signal-to-noise ratio analyses that drive progress and continuous improvement. Functional Hazard Analysis (FHA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), etcProbability of failure analysis, Deorbit Analysis, Debris Risk Analysis, Trajectory Analyses, etc.Work directly with the Mission Management and Regulatory teams on customer, FAA, and Range deliverables.
• Create training, present lectures, and mentor Systems Engineers and Subsystem Leads for standard tailoring, requirements, test plans, change and risk ownership, and mission assurance analyses; gather and execute process and tool feature requests from them to empower them.
• Be a force-enabler for the engineering and operations teams at Firefly by continuously eliminating non-value-added overhead across the organization; identify opportunities for automation and implement them.
• Travel to support off-site integration activities, testing, and launch operations as needed. (~4-6x/ year) Support static fire and LV walkdowns.Drive all NCRs that gate static fire or launch to closure.
• Serve as surge support for other teams by performing functions such as: Becoming a subject matter expert on key program system requirements.Effectively communicating at a technical level across all program disciplines to help guide each team towards compliance.Write, revise, and maintain interface control documents.

Qualifications

Required

• BS in Aerospace Engineering or related engineering discipline required
• 10+ years of focused hands-on experience in an interdisciplinary execution role on spacecraft; equivalent work will be considered.
• Firm comprehension and demonstrated application of first principles in engineering disciplines (orbital mechanics, controls, mechanical, structural dynamics, electrical, mechatronics, materials, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and propulsion).
• Strong working knowledge of fabrication and assembly methodologies, production management tools, and quality control processes.
• Experience leading interdisciplinary project teams, including hardware and software engineers.
• Strong working knowledge of ASME, MIL, ASTM, and/or NASA Standards, as well as Systems Engineering best practices – able to adapt processes to meet the needs of the team.
• Exceptional communication (written and verbal), public speaking, and presentation skills.

Desired

• Experience through the full lifecycle of a spacecraft mission from SRR to mission operations.
• Experience tailoring SMC/AFSPCM/91-710/etc equivalent range documents; understanding, documenting, and resolving the technical implications and risks associated with the tailoring.
• Fundamental software development experience in Python, C++, or equivalent.
• Experience developing software solutions and interface requirements for engineering and production tools.
• Experienced in Agile Project Management using Atlassian tools (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket)

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, relocation benefits, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

• generous health
• dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles
• parental leave
• relocation benefits
• educational reimbursement
• short term disability
• flexible PTO options

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.