Staff Ground Software Engineer – Mission Planning & Astrodynamics

Description

The company's Tactical Space group is hiring a Staff-level Ground Software Engineer (T5) to lead the design and development of mission planning and satellite operations software for its ground segment.

You will build software that plans, runs and analyzes space missions serving national and civil goals.

The role sits where software engineering meets orbital mechanics, building dependable operational tools on commercial astrodynamics platforms and custom code.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain ground software services and tools for mission planning, orbit analysis and satellite operations.
• Take software through its full lifecycle: break down requirements, design the mission planning architecture, implement with unit and integration testing, then deploy and sustain it in live operations.
• Work with systems engineering, mission operations and other ground software teams to connect mission planning into the wider ground segment.
• Build and maintain automation, pipelines and tooling, such as Python workflows and CI/CD jobs, that support mission analysis and operations.
• Write technical documentation, design artifacts and customer briefings for mission planning solutions.
• Lead or support software for orbit determination and ephemeris propagation.
• Lead or support software for maneuver planning and station-keeping strategy.
• Lead or support software for conjunction assessment and collision avoidance.
• Lead or support software for contact and pass planning and satellite mission analysis.
• Lead or support software for launch and early orbit operations (LEOP), station keeping, on-orbit support and anomaly response.
• Partner with astrodynamics, flight dynamics and operations staff to turn mission concepts and operational needs into reliable, repeatable software.
• Integrate and operate the COTS astrodynamics tools FreeFlyer and STK, and write scripts and interfaces that link them to other ground systems and data sources.
• Support rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) analysis and planning where mission needs call for it.
• Help set the technical roadmap for mission planning tools and services, covering performance, automation and ease of use in operations.

Requirements

• Hold a STEM bachelor's degree with 12+ years of relevant software or mission experience, a STEM master's with 10+ years, or a STEM PhD with 8+ years.
• Have a strong record building software for complex systems.
• Python is the preferred primary language for this role.
• Experience with at least one other language, such as C/C++ or Java, is a plus.
• Know every phase of the software development life cycle and Agile practices.
• Work comfortably in Linux environments and script in Bash.
• Have used containers such as Docker or Podman and CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitLab, Bitbucket/Jira and Git.
• Apply industry-standard configuration management tools and processes.
• Have supported astrodynamics, orbital mechanics or flight dynamics, or mission planning and satellite operations.
• Have hands-on work in at least some of: orbit determination, maneuver planning and station keeping, conjunction assessment and collision avoidance, ephemeris propagation and trajectory analysis, and contact and pass planning with satellite mission analysis.
• Preferred: active TS/SCI clearance with current or recent program access.
• Preferred: a degree in Aerospace Engineering or Physics with substantial coursework or experience in astrodynamics and space mission operations.
• Preferred: direct use of FreeFlyer and/or STK for mission analysis, planning or on-orbit operations, including integration or automation.
• Preferred: experience supporting LEOP, station keeping and collision avoidance, RPO, and long-term mission planning and on-orbit anomaly resolution.
• Preferred: experience with model-based systems engineering tools such as Rhapsody and Cameo.
• Preferred: experience with Atlassian tools (Jira, Bitbucket, Confluence, Crucible, Bamboo).
• Preferred: experience with virtualization technologies such as VirtualBox, QEMU, KVM or VMware.
• Preferred: work in a DevOps or CI/CD environment, contributing to automation and pipelines.
• Preferred: prior work on a space or ground program at the company, especially in mission planning, astrodynamics or satellite operations.

Conditions

Based in McLean, VA, with full-time onsite work in a secure environment.

Travel is about 10% of the time.

Relocation assistance may be available.

No clearance is needed to start; the clearance type is Interim Top Secret.

An active DoD Top Secret clearance is preferred at the time of application, but candidates who can obtain and maintain a TS and any required special program access will also be considered.

The primary level base salary range is $177,000.00 to $265,600.00, a general guideline that depends on scope, responsibilities, experience, education, skills and market conditions.

The application period is estimated at 20 days from the posting date and may be shortened or extended based on business needs and candidate availability.

Benefits

• Depending on the role, you may be eligible for overtime, shift differential and a discretionary bonus on top of base pay.
• Annual bonuses reward individual contributions and let you share in company results.
• Vice President and Director roles may be eligible for Long Term Incentives.
• Health insurance, life and disability insurance, a savings plan, company-paid holidays, and paid time off for vacation or personal business.