Principal Flight Dynamics Engineer

Principal Flight Dynamics Engineer

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.

As a Principal Flight Dynamics Engineer at Firefly, you will function as a technical authority in the company on spacecraft trajectory design, orbit determination, and maneuver planning for missions spanning Earth orbit, cislunar space, and the lunar surface. This technical leadership role requires a seasoned expert with deep mastery of orbital mechanics and a proven track record of solving the most complex flight dynamics challenges on operational missions.

The Principal Flight Dynamics Engineer will drive technical strategies, establish best practices, and shape future capabilities of the Firefly flight dynamics organization while mentoring and developing engineers of all levels. This position offers the opportunity to influence mission architectures from concept through operations, represent Firefly's technical excellence to customers and executive leadership, and solve unique problems that push the boundaries of spaceflight.

• Serve as a technical authority on flight dynamics, providing expertise across all spacecraft programs and mission phases
• Develop and validate novel flight dynamics methodologies, tools, and best practices for complex or unprecedented mission requirements
• Lead resolution of the most challenging flight dynamics problems across the company
• Provide authoritative technical review and approval of all flight dynamics products
• Establish rigorous unit testing standards and practices to increase the reliability of flight dynamics software
• Drive flight dynamics strategy and roadmap development, identifying capability gaps and investment priorities
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives for flight dynamics processes, tools, and operational efficiency
• Represent flight dynamics expertise in executive-level technical reviews, mission milestone reviews, customer meetings, and proposal efforts
• Mentor and coach engineers at all levels, fostering their technical growth and career development

• Advanced degree (master's or PhD) in aerospace engineering, physics, mathematics, or related field
• 10+ years of experience in spacecraft flight dynamics with demonstrated expertise across mission design, orbit determination, or maneuver planning
• Demonstrated experience supporting operational spacecraft missions through multiple mission phases
• Mastery of orbital mechanics theory and applications
• Expertise in numerical optimization, root-solving techniques, and estimation theory
• Knowledge of spacecraft subsystems and their impact on trajectory design and state estimation
• Proficiency in software development and modeling/simulation for spaceflight applications
• Software engineering expertise with proficiency in development practices including version control, code review, testing, documentation, and CI/CD workflows
• Experience with Python and Linux
• Proficiency with one or more commercial flight dynamics software tools (STK, Free Flyer, GMAT, ODTK, or similar)
• Experience developing strategic vision, technical roadmaps, and upgrade initiatives for flight dynamics teams
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop engineers at all levels, with a track record of cultivating new technical leaders
• Excellent communication skills with ability to convey complex technical concepts to executives, customers, and non-technical stakeholders

• Advanced Python proficiency and experience with JPL's MONTE software suite
• Proficiency in spacecraft trajectory design using STK
• Proven…