Demo

Advanced Mission Design Engineer

Mclaurin Aerospace
Houston, TX Full Time
POSTED ON 4/17/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 5/14/2026
Are you passionate about human space exploration, understanding the origins of the universe, and working with a passionate and diverse team to make a difference? If you are, we need you!

We need your talent, teamwork, and energy to help us achieve great things that inspire people all over the globe. We need you to bring creative ideas and diverse backgrounds to help us envision, shape, and deliver systems that will enable the exploration of space while benefiting people here on Earth. We are excited about what we do, and we need you on our team as we take on exciting challenges for NASA's pursuits in deep space exploration.

We have an exciting opportunity for an Advanced Mission Design Engineer to join our JETS II contract team at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

If Selected You Will

  • Provide trajectory products supporting spacecraft mission design & analysis for advanced Orion crewed missions such as Artemis I-III and related missions.
  • Perform trajectory optimization runs to characterize vehicle performance and mission availability for a variety of scenarios.
  • Develop, integrate, and test new algorithms for evaluation of vehicle and mission performance.
  • Provide software development and scripting of NASA's Copernicus trajectory optimization tool and related applications. - Integrate Copernicus with other trajectory software and tools.
  • Develop requirements documentation for mission design products.
  • Provide recommendations for improvements in design and software development processes.
  • Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications

This position has been posted at multiple levels. Depending on the candidate's experience, requirements, and business needs, we reserve the right to consider candidates at any level for which this position has been advertised.

  • Typically requires a bachelor's degree in engineering and a minimum of 2- 5 years of experience in the field or in a related area.
  • Experience with orbital mechanics and designing spacecraft trajectories.
  • Experience with development of spacecraft mission design algorithms and analyzing spacecraft performance.
  • Experience developing, verifying, and validating simulation models.
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Experience working in a team environment consisting of NASA civil servants and contractors.
  • Strong interpersonal skills to enable successful performance in a collaborative environment.
  • Ability to organize and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines and schedules with limited supervision.
  • Ability to prepare written documents and to verbally present at meetings.
  • Experience with Microsoft Office products.

Preferred Qualifications

  • PhD in Aerospace Engineering with a focus on trajectory design, optimization, and orbital mechanics.
  • Experience with 3-DOF spacecraft simulations.
  • Proficiency in software development using programming languages such as Modern Fortran, Python, C , bash, and Julia.
  • Experience with Python package management systems such as conda/mamba.
  • Experience with 3D graphics libraries such as OpenSceneGraph, OpenGL, and OpenFrames.
  • Experience with GUI development in Python and Qt.
  • Experience with multiple operating systems such as Windows, macOS Linux.
  • Experience with product delivery and management.
  • Experience with source code management tools such as Git/GitLab and continuous integration systems such as GitlabCI.

Benefits

  • Competitive pay
  • Positive work-life balance
  • 100% Employer paid insurance including: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, and long-term disability
  • 11 paid holidays annually
  • Generous PTO
  • 401k after 12 months of service with employer match
  • Education assistance
  • Relocation assistance (if applicable)

Mclaurin is a unique organization with a special focus on combining the best features of research and industry in order to foster innovation. Our organization strongly supports research, publication, and engagement with the academic community. We encourage our employees to remain on the cutting edge of new developments in their respective disciplines.

US Citizenship and the ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation is required.

Mclaurin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

Salary.com Estimation for Advanced Mission Design Engineer in Houston, TX
$92,445 to $106,625
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