Spacecraft Mission Operations Engineer III, Blue Ghost

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

Join the team that just landed on the Moon. Firefly Aerospace is seeking a Mission Operations Engineer III for the Blue Ghost program. Following the historic success of Mission 1, we are scaling our operations for complex, multi-manifested missions to locations like the Lunar Far Side and South Pole.

In this role, you aren’t just a flight controller; you are contributing to the entire operations ecosystem. You will own the operational framework of the lander ranging from architecting the Ground System to developing the Flight Operations Products (procedures, scripts, and processes) that make lunar landing possible. You will bridge the gap between spacecraft subsystem teams and real-time execution, leading the mission from the initial mission planning process through Mission Scenario Testing and Mission Simulations. If you want to own the mission from concept to console, this is your seat.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Ground System Management

• Architect the technical foundation of the mission, defining the Concept of Operations (ConOps) and owning Interface Control Documents (ICDs).
• Lead the implementation of the entire ground segment infrastructure, towards final approval for Mission Control Center readiness and data distribution architectures.
• Direct rigorous system validation and verification campaigns, defining the criteria for Site Acceptance Testing to Mission Scenario Testing.

Flight Operations Products

• Define the operational framework various mission scenarios and vehicles, setting the standards for procedure development, automation scripts, and flight workflows.
• Chair cross-functional Working Groups, resolving complex technical conflicts between subsystem teams to finalize the operational baseline.
• Architect mission operations plans and the roadmap for ops products development.
• Drive the development strategy for software tools, ensuring a seamless and risk-free transition from system design to live operations.

Simulations and Training

• Architect parts of the campaign of "Day-in-the-Life" (DITL) simulations and mission rehearsals, defining the training objectives for high-stakes lunar maneuvers.
• Collaborate with technical teams to define the requirements for ground simulator integration and validation, write the test plans, and execute them.
• Lead the team training proc