Emerging Missions Flight Dynamics Engineer

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospace’s strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise. The division leverages a broad array of engineering disciplines against a diverse and dynamic portfolio of programs, customers, and national challenges. EED spans the capability lifecycle from concept and architecture design to performance assessment to application of space and space-enabled capabilities. 

As a core component of EED, the Emerging Missions Flight Dynamics (EMFD) Department provides flight mechanics expertise for the cislunar domain, multi-objective “traveling salesman” trajectory sequence generation, facility location optimization, and trans-atmospheric flight design for missiles, hyperglide vehicles, and reentry vehicles. Relevant skills for a Senior Member of Technical Staff within EMFD include orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, trajectory design and optimization, and atmospheric flight modeling and simulation. The selected candidate will provide expertise for a wide range of customer flight mechanics needs, supporting analysis, research, and development requests. The work will require candidates to provide deep technical solutions while also collaborating with engineering partners to facilitate integrated solutions for our customers’ hardest problems. Customers will include defense, intelligence, and civil and commercial organizations.  

Work Model  

• The selected candidate will be required to work full time, on-site in El Segundo, CA, Chantilly, VA, or Albuquerque, NM   

What You’ll be Doing:   

Primary Support   

• Cislunar and exploration-class orbital mechanics analysis and trajectory optimization    

• Hypersonics, missiles, interceptors, and reentry vehicle trajectory design and optimization   

• Time-dependent Traveling Salesman Problems and Facility Location Problem analysis  

• Astrodynamics and orbital mechanics analysis including orbit propagation and maneuver design and optimization for orbit transfer, station keeping, graveyard, disposal, and reentry events    

• Analysis of vehicles with chemical and/or electric propulsion    

• Evaluating contested missions applications for space systems to understand threat performance, assess vulnerabilities, and improve system resiliency    

• Developing Concepts of Operations (CONOPS), exploring Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), and incorporating operational constraints into the design and maturation of space and near-space systems    

• Providing operational support for nominal launch and spacecraft deployment and transfer sequences, anomaly resolution, and on-call emerging events   

• Utilizing optimal control, flight mechanics, and computer science/algorithm development skills to create new capabilities to service customer requests as stand-alone services and/or ready-to-integrate submodules     

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