Systems Engineer III/IV (Launch Vehicles)

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.

Cedar Park (TX)

On-site

USD 120,000 - 190,000

Full time

8 hours ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Parental leave

Relocation benefits

Educational reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is seeking a Systems Engineer III/IV for Launch Vehicles in Texas. You will own vehicle‑level requirements traceability, coordinate interfaces across design, testing and production, and drive mission assurance through rigorous analysis and documentation.

The role demands 10+ years in aerospace systems engineering, strong fundamentals in propulsion and flight hardware, and collaboration with cross‑functional teams to ensure reliable, cost‑effective launch solutions.

Qualifications

BS in Aerospace Engineering or related field.
10+ years of hands-on experience in an interdisciplinary spacecraft role.
Strong understanding of orbital mechanics, controls, structures and propulsion.

Responsibilities

Own traceability between requirements, design data, test data and as-built records.
Lead root cause investigations and risk reviews as appropriate.
Mentor changes owners and ensure rigorous change and risk management.
Develop clear analyses and interface control documents for program success.
Travel to support off-site integration, testing and launch activities (~4–6x per year).

Skills

Systems engineering

Requirements management

Hardware-software integration

Python

C++

Model-based systems engineering

ASME/NASA standards knowledge

Communication skills

Agile project management

Leadership

Education

BS in Aerospace Engineering

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Bitbucket

Job description

At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands‑on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.

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Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.

Passion

Fireflies believe in perseverance, responsiveness, and mentoring others with a focus on inspiring a better future.

Accountability

Fireflies act with integrity and take ownership of our actions, commitments, decisions, and outcomes.

Fireflies work in alignment across teams and communicate clearly with mutual respect for one another.

Fireflies deliver high‑quality work through technical rigor and timely disciplined execution for our customers.

We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.

Space for You

Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
3-month sabbatical for every 5 years of service
Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
Mental health services
Paid military leave

Space for Your Family

12 weeks paid maternity leave
4 weeks paid spouse leave
$20k towards family planning: fertility, surrogacy, adoption
Dog friendly workplace

Space for Your Career

$10k/year towards trade school or college
Ongoing coaching to advance leadership skills

Space for Your Future

Employee‑ownership with stock bonuses
4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching
$10k bonus for home purchase in Cedar Park, Texas

Job Openings

From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.

Systems Engineer III/IV (Launch Vehicles)

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.
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.

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.

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