Principal Mission Architect

About the role

The company seeks a Principal Mission Architect and mission formulation lead to join our mission development team to help direct the development of new mission architectures. The ideal candidate is a self-motivated versatile engineer who can work with customers to identify their true needs, manage a team of engineers to develop a cost-effective solution, and perform a range of mission-level analyses, develop requirements, and design a practical and cost-effective space mission.

Responsibilities

• Develop a complete mission concept based on customer needs

• Perform mission-level analysis and own all top-level mission budgets

• Requirements definition and design for the mission and a variety of RF and optical instruments

• Leverage software tools and/or writing code to explore engineering trade studies and answer system design questions

• Understands key metrics and design trades for optical and RF instruments, and can work effectively with the company’s instrument design team

• Perform spacecraft performance and constellation configuration evaluation

• Collaborate with other discipline engineers and scientists to ensure the product meets objectives

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher degree in a related engineering field plus 12 years of experience working with space missions. Higher-level degrees count for 2 years experience each if they are in relevant topics.

• Excellent communication, presentation, and coordination skills

• Dedication to drawing conclusions based on the most important factors and data available

• Spacecraft design experience

• Space mission design experience

• Software skills in one or more of Python, Julia, Matlab, C, C++

• Travel to the Mountain View facility to support in-person meetings, build, and test

• Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week

• Active TS/SCI

Nice-to-have Skills

• Instrument experience in a variety of wavelengths: e.g. visible and infrared wavelengths, and radio frequency.

• Experience supporting science teams to develop missions

• Experience designing constellations

• Spacecraft and/or constellation operations experience

Salary

The salary range for this role is $174,000 -  $250,000, plus incentive compensation, competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.

About the company

Founded in 2021, the company is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, the company is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.

Taking Care of Our Team

At the company salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.

Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too.  The company is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

The company is currently registered and able to hire in the following states:

AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IA, ID, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA

ITAR/EAR Requirements

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.