Propulsion · Propulsion
Spacecraft Propulsion Engineer
Design and qualify propulsion, propellant-management and maneuver systems for orbit raising, station keeping and collision avoidance.
Role mandate
Build the capability for the era ahead.
This team member will combine subject-matter depth, sound judgment and disciplined execution to move the mission from architecture to measurable results.
Responsibilities
- Own the Propulsion workstream for Spacecraft Propulsion Engineer and deliver measurable technical or operating outcomes.
- Own requirements, interfaces, performance budgets and verification for flight and ground systems.
- Coordinate hardware, software, payload, bus, network and mission-operation dependencies.
- Drive design reviews, risk retirement, integration and readiness through the mission lifecycle.
Required qualifications
- Engineering experience with spacecraft, payloads, RF systems, avionics, antennas or ground systems.
- Working knowledge of requirements management, interface control and verification.
- Ability to perform disciplined analysis and communicate technical risk.
Preferred experience
- Experience taking flight hardware or mission systems through qualification and operations.
- Familiarity with constellation, optical-link or quantum-communications programs.
Scientific and technical requirements
Physics, mathematics and engineering foundations
- Thermodynamics, compressible flow, fluid mechanics, plasma physics for electric propulsion, combustion/material compatibility and controls.
- Differential equations, numerical methods, optimization, reliability and uncertainty analysis.
Mathematics and working equations
- Rocket equation Δv = Isp g0 ln(m0/mf); close propellant budget with residuals, margins and maneuver-execution losses.
- Thrust F = ṁve + (pe − pa)Ae; specific impulse Isp = F/(ṁg0).
- Electric-propulsion power-to-thrust and efficiency link bus power, mass flow and exhaust velocity; analyze plume and charging interactions.
Hardware, flight and infrastructure components
- Propellant tank, valves, regulators, filters, lines, pressure/temperature sensors, thrusters, catalyst bed or discharge chamber and feed-system electronics.
- For electric propulsion: PPU, cathode/neutralizer, grids or magnetic circuit; for chemical systems: igniter and thermal isolation.
Software, laboratory and analysis tools
- MATLAB/Python, CFD and thermal/structural analysis, fluid-network models, CAD and propulsion test-data systems.
- Vacuum chamber, thrust stand, mass-flow and pressure instrumentation, residual-gas diagnostics and high-speed electrical measurements.
Verification and mission skills
- Test leak rate, proof/burst margin, flow stability, ignition/restart, lifetime, plume contamination, thermal balance and delivered impulse.
Authoritative technical references
The hiring sequence will follow operating milestones and project requirements. The position may begin through advisory, consulting or project-based work before moving into a full-time role.
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