Senior Systems Engineer

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

As an end-to-end responsive space company, Firefly Aerospace is on a mission to enable our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. Our small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles allow us to service the entire lifecycle of government and commercial missions from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. We utilize carbon composite structures, patented propulsion technologies, and common components across our vehicles to iterate quickly, improve reliability, and deliver payloads at a lower cost.

Position Summary:

Firefly is looking for a highly skilled and motivated Senior Systems Engineer to join our team supporting the design, deployment, and management of cutting-edge infrastructure systems across on-premises and cloud environments. This role is critical in enabling scalable, resilient, and secure computing environments through virtualization, containerization, and automation tools to support Firefly’s launch and spacecraft operations.

The successful candidate will have deep expertise in Linux systems, server/storage infrastructure, and automation, with a strong emphasis on hybrid-cloud service integration and infrastructure-as-code practices.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, implement and manage Linux-based server infrastructure and networked storage systems to deliver 24x7x365 uptime service
• Architect, implement, and support virtualized infrastructure (e.g. VMware, ProxMox, Hyper-V) to support development, test, and operational deployments.
• Design, build, and manage Mission Operation Control Centers (MOCCs) in support of spacecraft command, telemetry, and data processing.
• Provide technical support to spacecraft operations teams throughout all phases of a mission, including pre-launch, launch, and on-orbit operations.
• Collaborate with aerospace engineers and mission planners to ensure systems are optimized for operational needs and mission success.
• Manage and optimize enterprise storage platforms, including SAN, NAS, and object storage systems (e.g., NetApp, Dell EMC, Ceph).
• Deploy and maintain infrastructure using Ansible, scripting languages (e.g., Bash, Python), and automation best practices.
• Build and support Kubernetes clusters (on-premise or hybrid cloud) for hosting containerized applications.
• Monitor infrastructure performance, troubleshoot issues, and ensure system uptime and availability.
• Develop and maintain documentation for system configurations, procedures, and mission support protocols.
• Provide input on ways to improve the stability, security, efficiency, and scalability of the environment.
• Lead and provide governance over assigned projects and responsibilities
• Collaborate with other IT teams and team members to develop automation strategies and deployment processes
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks based on dynamic business needs.
• Rotational after-hours support with 24/7 pager duty