Agile Space Industries

Systems Engineer VI - Thruster Programs

Agile Space Industries$160K — $214K *
Aerospace & Defense
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • B.S. in Engineering or related technical field
  • 12+ years of aerospace systems development experience
  • Expertise in liquid propellant rocket engines or thruster hardware
  • Strong understanding of propulsion, fluid systems, and integration
  • Experience in requirements management and verification planning
  • Proven track record of leading gated design reviews
  • Ability to drive system-level decision making across disciplines

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with customers to clarify mission objectives and success criteria
  • Convert mission needs into actionable system requirements with traceability
  • Lead system architecture development and evaluate trade-offs in performance and cost
  • Sustain consistency across engineering domains like propulsion, structures, and avionics
  • Manage verification and validation planning and execution processes
  • Conduct product development reviews to ensure alignment and progress
  • Analyze and mitigate technical risks, ensuring system integrity throughout the lifecycle

Benefits

  • Flexible work location options, including onsite or remote work
  • Opportunity to work on pioneering aerospace projects
  • Collaborative environment dedicated to system-level engineering excellence
  • Involvement in customer-facing roles and strategic decision-making
  • Support for professional growth and mentorship
Full Job Description
Agile is seeking an experienced Senior Staff Engineer to provide end-to-end systems engineering leadership across rocket engine and thruster development programs. This role is responsible for driving a clear, executable thread from customer mission and CONOPS through system requirements, architecture, design, verification, qualification, and delivery. The ideal candidate brings strong system-level thinking and deep technical experience in propulsion or related aerospace hardware. This role works directly with the customer and internal teams to define the mission, translate it into requirements, and ensure the system is designed, built, and tested to meet those objectives. This position is accountable for maintaining technical coherence across disciplines and driving system-level decisions throughout the program lifecycle. The role requires leadership in requirements definition and flowdown, architecture development, trade studies, risk management, and verification and validation planning and execution. The candidate is responsible for working with the customer to drive agreement on requirements. Agile operates in a fast-paced development environment. This role is expected to take ownership, drive decisions, and ensure alignment across teams, customers, and suppliers to deliver a working, testable system. This role can be? onsite or remote , and we are currently accepting candidates residing in? Colorado, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Washington, Utah,Texas, and Oklahoma . You? MUST? live and work from one these states to work remotely for Agile Space Industries.?Preference given towards candidate willing to relocate to Durango, CO. Responsibilities - Work directly with customers to define mission objectives, CONOPS, and system success criteria - Translate mission needs into clear, testable system requirements and maintain end-to-end traceability through delivery - Lead system architecture development and trade studies, including evaluation of performance, risk, cost, and schedule impacts - Ensure consistency and integration across propulsion, structures, avionics, thermal, fluids, and manufacturing interfaces - Lead the definition, planning, and execution of the verification and validation approach, including qualification plans and acceptance test procedures - Ensure verification is tied directly to requirements and planned early in the development lifecycle - Lead and support gated product development reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, etc.) - Identify, track, and drive closure of technical risks, interface issues, and system gaps - Independently analyze system performance and recommend design or architecture changes as needed - Facilitate communication between customers, internal teams, and suppliers, ensuring clear understanding of system intent, constraints, and decisions - Support failure investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective actions - Contribute to improving systems engineering processes, tools, and execution across programs Requirements Required Qualifications - B.S. in Engineering or related technical field (or equivalent experience) - 12+ years of experience driving systems development in aerospace or related technical field - Experience in with liquid propellant rocket engines or thruster hardware development programs - Strong understanding of propulsion systems, fluid systems, and system integration challenges - Demonstrated experience in requirements definition, decomposition, and management - Experience leading or supporting verification and validation planning and execution - Experience leading gated design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, MRR, and TRR)/product lifecycle - Ability to drive system-level decision making and cross-functional alignment - Experience leading customer discussions (government or commercial) - Experience with requirements management tools (e.g., JAMA or similar) - Proven experience driving advanced technical efforts and anticipating future technical needs - Ability to drive programs and execute long term technical strategies - Ability to drive consensus across stakeholders and elevating organizational technical capabilities - Proven experience mentoring engineers and leading through technical challenges and ambiguity Preferred Qualifications - Experience developing space flight hardware with a comprehensive understanding of space design best practices. - Experience with test plan development and hot fire testing of rocket engines - Experienced in leading failure investigations and root cause analysis - Familiarity with NASA or other relevant industry standards. - Familiarity with Range Safety requirements, such as AFSPCMAN 91-710, and process of tailoring industry standard specification to a specific application - Clear and concise presentation skills. - Demonstrated experience with risk and opportunity management activities and strategies? Physical Requirements: Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer Employment Type: Exempt Salary: $160,000 - $214,000 Final compensation will be based on factors such as experience, skills, and internal equity, and is typically made within the midrange, rather than the upper end. Work Schedule: Full Time Travel Requirements: < 25% Location: Remote, CO #LI-Remote Posting Timeline: This position will remain open for a minimum of five (5) days and will continue to accept applications until the role is filled. Early applications are encouraged, as reviews and interviews may begin during the posting period. Salary Description $160,000 - $214,000

About Agile Space Industries

Agile Space Industries is a company that specializes in the development of propulsion systems for small satellites. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Fullerton, California. Agile Space Industries is focused on developing innovative propulsion solutions that enable small satellites to perform complex missions. The company's products include electric propulsion systems, chemical propulsion systems, and hybrid propulsion systems. Agile Space Industries has a team of experienced engineers and scientists who are dedicated to advancing the state of the art in small satellite propulsion.
Learn more about Agile Space Industries
Size
50 employees
Industry
Net Income
-$1 million
Founded
2009
5 Year Trend
+20%
Revenue
$5 million

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