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Mission Design Engineer Verified today

Outpost · Los Angeles, CA · Space Systems · first seen 2026-10-20
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About the Role

The Mission Engineering team defines how each Outpost mission flies, from launch integration and on-orbit operations through deorbit, reentry, descent, and recovery. You will establish the mission design and flight safety discipline within the team, working directly with GNC, aerothermal, structures, avionics, and operations engineers, and representing Outpost to the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST).

Responsibilities

  • Own the flight safety analysis for Outpost reentry missions in accordance with 14 CFR Part 450, including trajectory analysis (§450.117), malfunction turn and failure-mode trajectory analysis (§450.119), debris analysis (§450.121), flight hazard area analysis (§450.133), and debris risk analysis (§450.135).
  • Demonstrate compliance with Part 450 public safety criteria for collective and individual expected casualty, aircraft hazard, and conditional expected casualty, and define the vehicle reliability and failure probability inputs those analyses require.
  • Develop and maintain 3-DOF and 6-DOF reentry trajectory simulations covering deorbit, atmospheric entry, descent, and terminal recovery.
  • Design and execute Monte Carlo dispersion analyses across vehicle, atmospheric, navigation, and operational uncertainties, and quantify landing footprints and impact probability distributions.
  • Model nominal and off-nominal vehicle breakup, fragment generation, demise, and survivable debris propagation to ground and sea impact.
  • Define deorbit targeting, entry corridors, recovery zones, and flight hazard areas, and support coordination of NOTAMs, NOTMARs, and range airspace requests.
  • Author the flight safety analysis sections of FAA license applications, Means of Compliance, and pre-application consultation material, and lead technical discussions with the FAA-AST.
  • Establish flight safety limits, mission rules, and go/no-go criteria, and serve as the flight safety lead during mission rehearsals and live operations.
  • Collaborate with GNC, aerothermal, structures, and reliability engineers to integrate vehicle models, failure modes, and hazard analyses (FHA, FMEA) into the flight safety case.
  • Perform mission-specific trajectory and feasibility analyses in support of customer proposals, launch provider integration, and new business pursuits.
  • Build and automate the analysis toolchain, and establish verification, validation, and configuration control processes for flight safety software and data products.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, or a related field.
  • 5+ years of experience in trajectory analysis, GNC, mission design, or flight safety for launch vehicles, reentry vehicles, or spacecraft; or a Master's degree with 4+ years; or a PhD with 3+ years.
  • Demonstrated experience developing and running atmospheric flight trajectory simulations with POST2, TRAJ, or an equivalent 3-DOF/6-DOF simulation framework.
  • Demonstrated experience designing and executing Monte Carlo dispersion analyses and interpreting results statistically.
  • Strong command of flight mechanics, orbital mechanics, atmospheric entry dynamics, and probability and statistics.
  • Working knowledge of FAA 14 CFR Part 450 or Part 417 flight safety requirements.
  • Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or C/C++ for simulation development and data analysis.
  • Clear written and verbal communication, including presentation of technical results to regulators, customers, and executive leadership.
  • Ability to work on-site in Playa Vista, California, five days per week.

Preferred Experience

  • Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering with a focus in GNC, astrodynamics, or hypersonics.
  • Direct contribution to an FAA launch or reentry license under Part 450, including flight safety analysis submittals and FAA review cycles.
  • Experience with reentry breakup and demise analysis tools such as ORSAT, DAS, DRAMA, SCARAB, or equivalent in-house tools.
  • Experience with casualty and risk modeling, including population density modeling, aircraft and ship hazard analysis, and sheltering models.
  • GNC background, including guidance law development, navigation filter design, or closed-loop 6-DOF simulation of entry or precision-landing vehicles.
  • Experience with parafoil, parachute, or decelerator descent modeling and recovery footprint analysis.
  • Experience building analysis pipelines with high-performance or cloud computing for large Monte Carlo campaigns.

Compensation and Benefits

  • Salary: $150,000 to $180,000, commensurate with experience.
  • Annual performance-based bonuses.
  • Meaningful equity in Outpost.
  • Medical, dental, and vision coverage (company covers base tier of medical and all premiums of vision and dental).
  • Short-term and long-term disability coverage and life insurance.
  • Paid time off plus 9 paid holidays.
  • 401(k) with company match.
  • Daily DoorDash lunch stipend, unlimited snacks, coffee, and tea.
  • Pet-friendly office.
  • Monthly company happy hours and events.

Employment Requirements

You must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S., a protected individual as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15, or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.