Flight Dynamics Engineer

Why this role is important:

• As a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer, you will develop and maintain in-house and commercial flight dynamics and mission analysis software tools, and apply them to design, analyze, and operate our satellite constellations. You will engage with E-Space Guidance Navigation and Controls, Software, and Operations engineers. This position will report to the Director of GNC and will be based in our Saratoga office.

What you will be doing:

• End-to-end development, validation, and use of state-of-the-art scalable in-house flight dynamics software, for high-fidelity constellation orbit propagation and maneuver simulations. 
• Perform various studies using STK, including validation of in-house tools and models, flight dynamics studies and mission analyses (e.g., deployment, maneuver design, lifetime prediction, collision avoidance, ground pass and coverage analysis). 
• Design, optimize, and automate orbit maneuver strategies and algorithms for constellation deployment, station-keeping, replenishment, collision avoidance, and re-entry. 
• Architect, develop, and deploy Space Situation Awareness (SSA) and collision avoidance strategies.  
• Develop and use both commercial and in-house tools to support spacecraft operations. 
• Own all aspects of software development, including architecture, development, testing, configuration management, mission integration and operation. 
• Interact cross-functionally with other subsystem engineers across E-Space locations, providing expertise feedback, and contributing ideas as needed. 
• Participate, present and prepare documentation for design reviews.

What you bring to this role:

• You have a Master's+ 5 years of relevant experience or a PhD + 3 years of relevant experience. 
• Your degree is in Aerospace, Software, Mathematics, or another relevant field. 
• Your experience is in orbital flight dynamics or mission analysis, preferably related to low-Earth orbit and constellations. 
• You have deep knowledge and experience in orbital mechanics, including orbit propagation and maneuvers, in particular for low-Earth orbit constellations. 
• You have deep experience with STK, or equivalent tools (e.g., GMAT, FreeFlyer). 
• You have software development experience in C/C++, Matlab, and Python. 
• You have experience developing scalable collaborative software projects based on Git repositories. 
• You have theoretical knowledge and practical experience with numerical integrators and differential equations. 
• You have theoretical knowledge and practical experience with numerical optimization methods. 
• You have practical experience with mission analysis, including pass predictions, coverage analysis, and link budgets.  
• You have knowledge of spacecraft systems and familiarity with key constraints and trades for low-Earth orbit mission analysis, constellation design and multi-spacecraft operations. 
• You have experience implementing orbit determination algorithms. 
• You're a highly proactive team player with excellent technical communication and presentation skills. 

Additional Requirements

This is a fast-paced, high-impact environment - flexibility to occasionally work extended hours or weekends during critical periods is expected.