About the JobWe are seeking a Mission Operations Vehicle Engineer to become an integral part of our dynamic Mission Operations team! This engineer will play a crucial role in the on-orbit commanding, controlling, monitoring, and tasking of our expanding constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. In this exciting position, you will be responsible for ensuring the health and safety of our vital on-orbit assets, participating in launch and early orbit operations for future launches, performing mission-critical analyses, responding and resolving on-orbit anomalies, supporting collection tasking, and providing essential feedback and guidance to our internal hardware, software, and collection management teams.

The Mission Operations team is a small, tight-knit group with dynamic responsibilities, making it an exciting team to be a part of. As a team, we take ownership over our various projects and responsibilities that span a broad area of expertise. We value team players and often work together to solve problems, brainstorm ideas, and execute critical tasks on orbit.

This position is based on-site in our Arlington, VA office.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor, operate, and maintain a constellation of on-orbit satellites.
• Support the development and execution of mission plans and on-orbit CONOPS across the vehicle life cycle, including integration, launch, early operations checkouts, payload calibrations, orbital maneuvers, and other on-orbit activities.
• Respond to on-orbit anomalies, perform anomaly investigation and root cause analysis, and execute resolution activities.
• Develop and improve automated workflows for day-to-day operations, analysis, anomaly resolution, conjunction assessment, orbital maintenance, and mission planning.
• Support tasking operation and optimization, analyze overall system utilization and facilitate unique customer requests as needed.
• Support other teams in spacecraft modeling, simulation, mission design, and systems engineering analyses for current and future development efforts.
• Define and complete high-level tasks with limited oversight from management.
• Ad hoc tasking of satellites to evaluate and test new modes of operation.
• Monitor, evaluate, and improve satellite imagery and other products.
• Support off-hour operations (weekends and/or nights) independently, while maintaining strong communication with the overall team.
• Other professional duties as assigned.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, systems engineering, physics, computer science, or a related STEM field.
• 1-3+ year(s) of experience working on spacecraft, launch vehicles, or robotics.
• Experience with on-orbit operations.
• Comfortable with:
• A scripting language such as MATLAB or Python.
• Orbit analysis or mission design tools such as STK, GMAT, or Free Flyer.
• Version control software such as Git.
• Familiarity with at least one of the following: orbital mechanics, attitude control, LEO GNC systems, space systems engineering, spacecraft propulsion, flight software, or rendezvous procedures.
• Excellent communications skills, ability and desire to work collaboratively in a team environment, and willingness to learn new skills and technology.
• Willing to support, as needed, on-call shift assignments and odd hours, such as overnights and/or weekends.

Desired Qualifications

• Comfortable working in a dynamic and fast-paced development environment.
• Comfortable working on high-level tasks independently.
• Experience working with radar or remote sensing satellites.
• Familiarity with mission operations software, ground control systems, or command scripting.
• Exposure to low Earth orbit (LEO) mission dynamics and constraints.

Benefits

• Flexible Time Off, Sick, Family & Medical Leave
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, LTD, STD (employer funded)
• Vol Life, Critical Illness, Accidental, Hospital Indemnity, Pet Insurance (employee funded)
• 401k with 3% non-elective company contribution
• Stock Options
• Free Parking
• Free lunch daily in office

Pay Transparency

This job posting may cover multiple career levels. To ensure greater transparency, we provide base salary ranges for all roles, regardless of location. Our standard pay ranges are based on the role's function and level, benchmarked against similar growth-stage companies. Compensation may vary based on geographical location, as certain regions may have different cost-of-living factors. The final offer will also be influenced by the candidate's skills, responsibilities, and relevant experience.

Compensation Range

The Compensation Range for this role is $90,000 - $120,000 DOE.