Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer Seen this week
About Cowboy Space
Cowboy Space Corp. is building infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. We operate satellites in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight, enable on-orbit compute, transmit energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), and deliver secure, high-bandwidth optical data. Founded in 2024, we are backed by leading investors and staffed by engineers from top aerospace and defense organizations.
About the Role
We are seeking a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer to support the development, analysis, and validation of advanced aerospace systems. You will combine strong analytical skills with hands-on simulation and systems engineering experience to support mission design, flight dynamics, and autonomous control system development. This position is onsite in Seattle, WA.
Responsibilities
- Develop and analyze launch vehicle and spacecraft trajectories, including ascent, orbit insertion, and orbital maneuvers
- Perform orbital propagation and station-keeping analysis for spacecraft operations
- Support mission design including launch window analysis, delta-V budgets, and contingency planning
- Interface with flight software and GNC teams to validate and optimize guidance profiles
- Contribute to development of in-house simulation tools and flight dynamics infrastructure
- Engage in multi-disciplinary vehicle systems investigations to motivate mission design, vehicle architecture, and analysis methodologies
- Develop and evaluate flight termination system mission rules
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Space Systems, or Software Engineering, or equivalent Engineering or Applied Physics degree
- Experience with orbital mechanics, classical dynamics, modeling, and simulation
- Mission analysis with STK, Astrogator, GMAT, Monte, Copernicus, or equivalent
- Python software development
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with launch vehicles, spacecraft, missiles, hypersonics, UAVs, or defense systems
- Orbit determination analysis with ODTK, Orekit, or equivalent
- Team and/or software project management experience
Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000-$200,000 annually. Actual base salary depends on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.
- Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Paid time off
- 10 paid holidays per calendar year
- Paid parental leave
- Relocation assistance if applicable
- Daily lunch in the office and fully stocked kitchen
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants 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.