Senior Flight Dynamics Software Engineer, Mission Planning Platform

About the role

Muon seeks a Senior Flight Dynamics Software Engineer to join our Mission Planning Platform team and help lead the buildout of our flight dynamics capability. Partnering with our flight dynamics lead, you will own major workstreams end-to-end — from architecture through production deployment and operations — across orbit determination, maneuver planning, and constellation-scale automation. You'll also help grow the team by mentoring earlier-career engineers and representing flight dynamics in cross-team technical forums.

Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.

Responsibilities

• Own major MuFDS (Muon’s in-house flight dynamics system) workstreams end-to-end (architecture, implementation, validation, and operational rollout) across areas such as automated maneuver planning, stationkeeping and collision avoidance, and maneuver reconstruction.
• Drive architecture and design decisions for flight dynamics capabilities that span team boundaries.
• Support on-orbit propulsion operations, including commissioning campaigns and routine maneuvers, in coordination with propulsion vendors and subcontractors.
• Lead operational response for orbit determination and maneuver-related anomalies, including deep-dive root-cause investigations and follow-on system improvements.
• Represent flight dynamics in mission readiness reviews, cross-team design reviews, and interactions with external partners.
• Evolve Muon's OD pipeline toward more advanced and robust methods (e.g. statistical filtering, factor graph methods, improved dynamics modeling).
• Mentor earlier-career engineers on flight dynamics fundamentals, software craftsmanship, and Muon's ground systems.

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher in aerospace engineering, astrodynamics, physics, applied math, or related field (M.S. preferred).
• 5+ years of experience in flight dynamics software development and operations.
• Direct, hands-on experience planning, executing, and reconstructing propulsive maneuvers for operational LEO spacecraft.
• Strong proficiency in C++ and Python, with a track record of production-level contributions in both.
• Solid grounding in flight dynamics fundamentals: orbital mechanics, propagation, orbit determination, maneuver design.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical work across functional boundaries and communicate clearly with non-FD stakeholders (GNC, Systems, Operations, external vendors).
• Ability to translate first-principles analysis into production-level code.
• Familiarity with modern software engineering practices (version control, code review, automated testing) in a Linux-based environment.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.

Skills

• Hands-on experience implementing and operating OD systems, including practical familiarity with filter tuning, residual analysis, and dynamics model calibration.
• Experience with astrodynamics software, either open-source (e.g., GMAT, Orekit) or commercial (e.g., Ansys STK/ODTK, FreeFlyer).
• Experience taking a spacecraft from LEOP through steady-state operations.
• Experience with conjunction assessment / collision avoidance workflows.
• Experience with scheduling or constrained optimization problems (e.g., pass