The role is part of the In-Space Systems business unit, which is focused on development, manufacturing, and operation of satellite systems to address one of the most compelling challenges in spaceflight today: space mobility. As part of a hardworking team of diverse specialists, technicians, and engineers, you provide leadership across organizations, working end-to-end across payload, vehicle, and ground elements to create space navigation solutions. The Principal Space Navigation Architect is responsible for end-to-end system design of vehicle navigation considering multiple propulsion system types (chemical and electric propulsion), multiple measurement sources (GPS and radiometric), and diverse destination regimes (geostationary and cislunar space), as well as cradle to grave oversight of solution lifecycle. You will be the primary interface to stakeholders for all space navigation related topics, including coordination of capability roadmaps, development of system level requirements, definition of interfaces between space elements, ground elements, and external systems, and fostering implementation, integration and test activities. You will provide subject matter expertise on ground-based orbit determination of our vehicle during algorithm development as well as flight operations. You will also be a primary participant in trade studies and proposal development for civil and national security customers.

We’re looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality; to join our team and positively impact the future of space. Passion for our mission and vision is required. Successful candidates will have a technical background, be detail driven, and have excellent problem-solving abilities. You should be passionate about delivering extensible, timely solutions while contributing to the development of high-performance teams through meticulous goal-setting, disciplined attention to performance metrics, and continuous process improvement.

If you’re excited by providing near-term value, solving novel problems, learning about interesting topics, and completing challenging activities, please apply!

Special Mentions

• Relocation provided

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Collaborate with customers, stakeholders, systems engineering, architecture, hardware, and software teams to ensure cross-functional deliverables are identified and tracked
• Design and lead collaborative development of an end-to-end space navigation system architecture that details how architectural elements are developed, constructed, deployed, and maintained across Space and Ground elements
• Assess system navigation and orbit determination performance against current and future mission scenarios, manage performance and risk for scheduled missions
• Develop orbit determination and navigation algorithms for implementation in navigation capabilities
• Perform detailed trade studies for the navigation performance of our vehicle under different operational assumptions
• Perform Monte Carlo analysis of maneuver designs considering chemical and electric propulsion systems. 
• Coordinate and provide direction across diverse engineering teams to successful project execution by offering solutions that are imaginative, thorough, predictable, and consistent with organizational objectives
• Establish goals and metrics to identify opportunities to deliver customer solutions to cost, performance, and schedule requirements
• Serve as a space navigation focal throughout the program lifecycle as systems are developed, championing the conceptual vision and adapting it to reality
• Lead verification of navigation solution
• Support the navigation process during live mission operations, performing orbital estimation, maneuver planning, and maneuver execution
• Mentor and train across the program to ensure approach, philosophy, and technology are understood and implemented so they provide required capabilities and value to our customers

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.S. in Aerospace, Software, Electrical, Mechanical, Physics, Systems Engineering, or related technical subject area
• 10 years of Technical Experience developing space mission design and navigation systems
• 10 years of Technical Experience in the space navigation domain, including satellite navigation, statistical orbit determination, orbital mechanics, astrodynamics, and trajectory optimization
• Strong background developing space navigation CONOPs, requirements, and interface description documents to flow to element level teams
• Demonstrated experience throughout mission design lifecycle from conceptualization through operational flight
• Applied experience in navigation tools such as Monte, STK/ODTK, FreeFlyer, or GMAT
• Experience developing high-level plans for end-to-end integrated system tests occurring throughout a program’s lifecycle
• Outstanding customer relationship skills including the ability to discover the requirements underlying feature requests, recommend alternative technical and business approaches, and lead engineering efforts to meet ambitious timelines with optimal solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Desired:

• Ph.D. in Aerospace, Software, Electrical, Mechanical, Physics, Systems Engineering, or related technical subject area
• 15 years of proven experience focused on mission design and navigation
• Multiple spacecraft missions of operational ground navigation support and/or leadership
• Applied expertise in ground-based satellite navigation and statistical orbit determination processes, including radiometric and GPS.
• Experience using the Monte software package
• Experience with electric propulsion satellite missions and/or GPS commercial satellite missions