Spacecraft Containment Engineer

Associates Systems LLC

$110K — $130K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • B.S. in Engineering or related field with 10+ years of experience, or M.S. with 7+ years.
  • 7+ years in spacecraft contamination control or related aerospace field, essential to ensure safety and performance.
  • Expertise in evaluating contamination sensitivities and developing requirements based on performance characteristics is critical.
  • Proven experience with contamination controls spanning design, manufacturing, integration, testing, and inspection processes.
  • Strong knowledge of molecular and particulate contamination issues, including outgassing and vacuum systems is necessary for effective management.
  • Experience must include aerospace contamination processes for spacecraft or sensitive flight hardware.
  • Eligible U.S. Citizen able to undergo a government background check, highlighting security requirements in aerospace.

Responsibilities

  • Evaluate contamination sensitivities and mitigation strategies for spacecraft and associated hardware.
  • Analyze sources and impacts of molecular and particulate contamination on spacecraft performance.
  • Review and improve contamination control plans and verification documentation across the project lifecycle.
  • Support development of contamination-related requirements and compliance verification methods.
  • Assess contamination risks linked to materials, processing, and cleanroom environments, ensuring safety standards are upheld.
  • Participate in testing activities, analyze results, and verify hardware performance against contamination requirements.
  • Investigate contamination anomalies, perform root-cause analysis, and recommend corrective actions based on findings.

Benefits

  • Immediate interview opportunities for suitable candidates, allowing for a quick hiring process.
  • Onsite work in Titusville, Florida, providing an immersive, hands-on experience in advanced spaceflight programs.
  • Engagement with NASA and other aerospace industry leaders, enhancing professional development opportunities.
  • Collaborative work environment with diverse engineering teams, promoting knowledge sharing and career growth.
Full Job Description
Spacecraft Contamination Control Engineer
Onsite Titusville Florida - No Hybrid or remote is available.
NASA or AEROSPACE Exp
US Citizens or Perm Residents Only
These are immediate interviews for the right candidates.


Level: Senior Engineer / Subject Matter Expert
Overview
We are looking for an experienced Spacecraft Contamination Control Engineer to support advanced spaceflight programs.
The engineer will provide subject matter expertise in the analysis, assessment, and verification of spacecraft contamination requirements and controls throughout the spacecraft lifecycle. The role includes contamination sensitivity assessments, contamination budgets and mitigation strategies, molecular and particulate transport analysis, and evaluation of contamination controls for flight hardware, payloads, and mission operations.
This position will be filled at the Senior Engineer or Subject Matter Expert level, depending on qualifications, with salary commensurate with experience.
Key Responsibilities
  • Evaluate contamination sensitivities, requirements, controls, budgets, and mitigation strategies for spacecraft, payloads, and associated hardware.
  • Analyze molecular and particulate contamination sources, transport, and deposition, including potential impacts to spacecraft, payloads, instruments, and docking surfaces.
  • Review and assess contamination control plans, analyses, verification approaches, and technical documentation throughout design, manufacturing, integration, testing, transportation, and operations.
  • Support the development, review, and refinement of contamination-related requirements and verification approaches, including assessment of proposed compliance methods and verification evidence.
  • Evaluate contamination risks associated with materials, hardware processing, cleaning, inspection, storage, transportation, and cleanroom environments.
  • Participate in qualification, acceptance, and other testing activities and evaluate test results and demonstrated performance.
  • Investigate contamination issues and anomalies, perform or support root-cause analysis, and evaluate proposed corrective actions.
  • Apply flight and test experience, lessons learned, and engineering analysis to assess contamination risks, hardware acceptance criteria, and proposed design or process changes.
  • Collaborate with thermal, fluids, propulsion, materials, systems engineering, mission design, and other disciplines to evaluate contamination interactions and integrated spacecraft performance.
  • Provide independent technical assessments, identify risks and uncertainties, and develop recommendations for engineering and program leadership.
  • Participate in technical reviews and engineering activities with spacecraft developers, test organizations, and other technical partners.
  • Provide technical guidance and mentoring in spacecraft contamination control methods, analysis, and practices.
Required Qualifications
  • B.S. degree in Engineering or related discipline and 10+ years of relevant experience, or M.S. degree and 7+ years of relevant experience.
  • 7+ years of experience in spacecraft contamination control or a related aerospace field, preferably involving flight hardware.
  • Experience determining contamination sensitivities and evaluating or developing contamination requirements based on instrument, payload, or system performance characteristics.
  • Experience evaluating contamination controls across design, manufacturing, integration, test, and inspection activities.
  • Experience with molecular and particulate contamination, outgassing, transport/deposition, cleanroom practices, materials, vacuum systems, and hardware cleaning and inspection methods.
  • Experience with aerospace contamination control processes for spacecraft, launch systems, or other contamination-sensitive flight hardware.
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen and successfully complete a U.S. Government background investigation.
  • Strong technical communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Preferred Qualifications
  • M.S. or Ph.D. in Engineering or related discipline.
  • Experience with spacecraft docking contamination control, ISS, or other contamination-sensitive spaceflight systems.
  • Experience applying NASA and industry contamination control standards and practices.
  • Experience with contamination testing and characterization, including ASTM E595, E1559, E1216, or E1235.
  • Experience with contamination modeling and analysis using tools such as Thermal Desktop, MATLAB, or specialized contamination analysis software.
  • Experience with spacecraft or commercial spaceflight hardware through design, integration, qualification, test, or operations.
  • Experience evaluating hardware acceptance criteria, verification evidence, technical risks, and corrective actions.

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