Spacecraft Operations Engineer I/II
$82,000–$118,000 year
On-siteLong Beach, California, United States
Job Summary
Manage the health, safety, and performance of a growing satellite fleet by leveraging automation and software-driven solutions for efficient mission execution across commissioning, orbit raising, routine operations, and re-entry. Design, develop, and test ground scripting, flight software sequences, and FDIR/telemetry configurations to ensure spacecraft health and fault management. Maintain continuous integration of operational code, develop test methods, and run validation against simulation tools like flatsat and HITL. Support AIT teams during integrated tests and perform requirements validation for subsystems and missions. Generate and maintain mission requirements while acting as a key technical interface between engineering teams in Auckland, NZ, Littleton, CO, and Long Beach, CA.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in engineering (software, computer, electrical, aerospace, mechanical, or other technical engineering discipline)
- U.S. citizenship required due to program requirements
- Experience in any of the following: space mission design, satellite subsystems, ground systems, spacecraft command control or spacecraft operations
- Understanding of key spacecraft subsystems and their associated components, including attitude determination and control, spacecraft electrical power systems, space-ground communications, on-orbit command and data handling, and thermal control
- Understanding of the space environment, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics
- Software development experience (Python/Ruby/C/C++/other high-level languages)
- U.S. citizenship required due to program requirements
- U.S. citizenship, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable
Desired Qualifications
- Master's or PhD engineering in engineering (software, computer, electrical, aerospace, mechanical, or other technical engineering discipline)
- Prior experience in spacecraft operations
- Prior experience in satellite system design
- Prior experience in satellite ground systems
- Exposure to modern development practices – GIT, CI/CD, cloud infrastructure
- Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) Testing: Exposure to testing frameworks that simulate software behavior in operational environments
- Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Testing: Familiarity with testing frameworks that integrate software and hardware systems
- TS/SCI Clearance
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.