Senior Flight Dynamics Specialist

The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospace's strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise. The division leverages a broad array of engineering disciplines against a diverse and dynamic portfolio of programs, customers, and national challenges. EED spans the capability lifecycle from concept and architecture design to performance assessment to application of space and space-enabled capabilities.

As a core component of EED, the Emerging Missions Flight Dynamics Department (EMFDD) provides flight mechanics expertise for the cislunar domain, multi-objective "traveling salesman" trajectory sequence generation, facility location optimization, and trans-atmospheric modeling for missiles, hyperglide vehicles, and reentry vehicles. Relevant skills include orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, trajectory design and optimization, and atmospheric flight modeling and simulation. The selected candidate will provide expertise for a wide range of customer flight mechanics needs, supporting analysis, research, and development requests. The work will require candidates to provide deep technical solutions while also collaborating with engineering partners to facilitate integrated solutions for our customers' hardest problems. Customers will include defense, intelligence, and civil and commercial organizations.

Work Model

• This position will be a hybrid work model based in El Segundo, CA, Colorado Springs, CO, Chantilly, VA, or Albuquerque, NM with the expectation that the selected candidate works at least 4 days a week onsite, as the business needs allow.

What You'll be Doing:

• Advise key stakeholders and government customers by performing a range of astrodynamics and space mission design modeling, simulation, and analysis. Work will be in the focus areas of space domain awareness (SDA), space control, space debris, and enhancing the resilience of other mission areas in the space enterprise architecture.

• Orchestrate technical deep dives, trade studies, and assessments. Establish high-performing teams with multi-disciplinary technical leaders, Aerospace Program Office personnel and external customers including defense and civil agencies, such as the U.S. Space Force, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and others.

• Develop and present timely and technically accurate briefings and reports that clearly communicate analysis results and provide recommended solutions, supporting critical decisions in collaboration with technical leads, management, and customers.

• Lead and guide the development and maturation of analysis software tools, implementation of best practices, and analysis software tool modernization.

• Provide technical mentoring to junior staff and customer personnel.

What You Need to be Successful

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited program in Engineering, Science, Mathematics, or related technical discipline.

• At least twelve years of relevant professional, technical work experience.

• Experience in one or more of the following subjects: space mission analysis and design, advanced astrodynamics, algorithm design, software development, or mathematical modeling, multi-objective optimization, trajectory simulation and performance optimization of spacecraft, missiles, and reentry vehicles

• Ability to support multiple programs and/or activities simultaneously and to be comfortable acting as a technical point-of-contact.

• Proficiency with one or more of the following programming languages/tools: C, C++, Python, Fortran, MATLAB.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills.

• Demonstrated technical team leadership and mentorship skills.

• Willing to travel domestically to customer and contractor facilities.

• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the US government. U.S citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• Graduate degree and/or research or professional experience in engineering, mathematics, physics, computer science, or related field.

• Ability to build and foster effective working relationships with customers, contractors, Federally Funded Research & Development Center (FFRDC) and other personnel.

• Experience directly interfacing with senior government customers.

• Experience in spacecraft or launch operations.

• Current SSBI with an active TS/SCI clearance.

• Current SAP access.