Spacecraft Systems Engineer III Seen this week

About Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly was the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first to achieve a successful Moon landing.

The Role

Join Firefly as a Spacecraft Systems Engineer III to develop Blue Ghost and Elytra spacecraft over the full product lifecycle from concept through fabrication, test, and flight. You will work with design engineering, manufacturing, integration, test and launch teams to ensure 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. You will validate the system architecture, manage technical budgets and design configuration between departments, develop test plans, ensure verification of requirements, and support mission operations. You will be expected to speak knowledgeably about the current system configuration and provide status updates on performance, changes, schedule, and risks.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and maintain system-level designs, schematics, interface control documents and performance budgets including fluid, electrical, and software architectures (ICDs, ConOps, States and Modes, Sequence Diagrams, FBD, Boundary Diagrams, Grounding/Bonding Diagrams, Mass/Power/Link/dV/etc Budgets)
• Own requirements development and flowdown, subsystem interfaces, and vehicle level test plans. Review all test plans for your vehicle
• Lead system-level trades, design reviews, and data reviews. Be accountable for delivery of SRR and PDR, provide critical inputs to CDR, MRR, TRR, and LRR
• Own resolution of any issue, failure, or NCR that impacts closure of test plans, including root cause analysis and corrective actions
• Facilitate the change control board, risk review board, deliverable tracking and effort estimates for your vehicle
• Build strong rapport with manufacturing and integration technicians, understand their challenges and propose upstream improvements
• Travel to support offsite testing
• Serve as surge capacity for operations team during demanding missions and support 12 hour shifts during lunar mission operations
• Maintain calm under pressure and foster a positive, professional, and respectful working environment

Required Qualifications

• BS in Aerospace Engineering or related engineering discipline
• 6+ years of focused hands-on experience in an interdisciplinary project management or 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
• 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. Ability to adapt processes to meet team needs
• Exceptional communication (written and verbal), public speaking and presentation skills

Desired Qualifications

• Experience through the full lifecycle of a spacecraft mission from SRR to mission operations
• Strong working knowledge of GNC analysis and cislunar mission planning
• Strong working knowledge of the lunar surface environment and robotics
• MS or PhD in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering or equivalent technical field
• Strong working knowledge of real time visual navigation systems for autonomous control
• Experience designing spacecraft architectures or critical subsystems for reliability and radiation resiliency
• Strong working knowledge of fabrication and assembly methodologies, production management tools, and quality control processes
• Experience tailoring SMC/AFSPCM/91-710 equivalent range documents; understanding, documenting and resolving technical implications and risks
• Experienced with Agile Project Management using Atlassian tools (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket)
• PMP or equivalent project management experience

What We Offer

Generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

Export Control

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.