Flight Dynamics Engineer/Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer

About the Role

The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospace's strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise, leveraging a broad array of engineering disciplines against a varied and dynamic portfolio of programs, customers, and national challenges. As a core component of EED, the Earth Orbit Flight Dynamics Department (EOFDD) provides flight mechanics expertise for launch vehicles and space vehicles. The selected candidate will provide expertise for a wide range of customer flight mechanics needs, supporting both analysis and research and development requests, requiring deep technical solutions while collaborating with engineering partners to facilitate integrated solutions for customers' hardest problems. Customers include defense, intelligence, and civil and commercial organizations.

Work Model: Hybrid work model based in El Segundo, CA; Colorado Springs, CO; Chantilly, VA; or Albuquerque, NM, with expectation to work at least 4 days per week onsite, as business needs allow.

Responsibilities

• Trajectory design and optimization for launch vehicles and spacecraft for missions operating in LEO, MEO, HEO, GEO, and other earth-centric regimes
• Astrodynamics and orbital mechanics analysis including orbit propagation and maneuver design and optimization for orbit transfer, stationkeeping, graveyard, disposal, and reentry events
• Analysis of vehicles with chemical and/or electric propulsion
• Evaluating contested missions applications for space systems to understand threat performance, assess vulnerabilities, and improve system resiliency
• Exploring and defining the evolving Dynamic Space Operations (DSO) mission area
• Maneuver and orbit design, selection, and optimization for missions that support Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) objectives with complex operational constraints
• Developing Concepts of Operations (CONOPS), exploring Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), and incorporating operational constraints into the design and maturation of space systems
• Providing operational support for nominal launch and spacecraft deployment and transfer sequences, anomaly resolution, and on-call emerging events
• Utilizing optimal control, flight mechanics, and computer science/algorithm development skills to create new capabilities to service customer requests as stand-alone services and/or ready-to-integrate submodules
• Combining AI/ML/RL techniques with flight mechanics modeling for assessing complex analysis and decision-making trade spaces
• Performing research and development and building new flight dynamics tools to cultivate and maintain a healthy and modern internal tool base
• Leveraging external tools like ASSET, GPOPS-II, SNOPT, POST, OTIS, Copernicus, GMAT, EMTG, etc. where appropriate to augment internally developed capabilities

Additional Opportunities

• Cislunar and exploration-class orbital mechanics analysis and trajectory optimization
• Hypersonics, missiles, interceptors, and reentry vehicle trajectory design and optimization supporting Golden Dome or other related mission areas
• Time-dependent Traveling Salesman Problems and Facility Location Problem (servicer) analysis
• Integrated, multi-disciplinary RPO system simulations

Minimum Requirements — Engineering Specialist

• Bachelor's degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering, physics or applied mathematics, or related disciplines
• Eight or more years of experience in flight mechanics, astrodynamics, maneuver optimization, trajectory optimization, launch vehicle trajectory design, hypersonic vehicle modeling, or general trajectory modeling and simulation
• Proficiency in one or more of the following programming languages and environments: C, C++, Fortran, Python, Linux, and/or MATLAB
• Ability to operate independently, often in the presence of ambiguity, and still deliver high-quality, innovative, and specialized end products to a range of customers
• Willing to travel domestically approx. 10%
• Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance (TS clearance (SSBI) with SCI access) is required
• U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance

Minimum Requirements — Senior Engineering Specialist

• Twelve or more years of experience of relevant technical work
• Ability to lead and execute large and sustained technical efforts with vision to propose, scope, and coordinate these efforts across organizational boundaries

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering, physics or applied mathematics, or related disciplines is strongly desired
• Graduate level course work, research and/or experience in one or more of the following areas: orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, ascent trajectory modeling, hypersonic flight simulation, optimal control, flight mechanics, and/or trajectory modeling and simulation
• Experience using or building analysis software to combine numerical methods, orbital or flight mechanics, and optimization approaches for launch vehicles, missiles, interceptors, spacecraft, or reentry vehicles (hypersonics)
• Experience with nonlinear programming (non-linear programming), direct methods, gradient-based optimization, parameter optimization, genetic algorithms, evolutionary algorithms, heuristic optimization methods, indirect methods, and/or calculus of variations
• Advanced algorithm development skills to include parallel processing and scripting experience
• Experience with contested space trajectory applications, military exercises, and wargaming events
• Current TS (SSBI), TS/SCI, and/or TS/SAP Access

Pay

Grade-based pay range: $129,000.00 - $249,600.00 annually. Individual salaries determined through a wide variety of factors including education, experience, knowledge and skills.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect