Emerging Mission 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 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, hyper-glide vehicles, and reentry vehicles. Relevant skills 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.

• The selected candidate will be required to work full time, on-site in Colorado Springs, CO, El Segundo, CA, Chantilly, VA, or Albuquerque, NM offering an in-person work model that combines 4 or more regular onsite workdays per week and remote flexibility as business needs allow.

Primary Support for Cislunar Mission Design Section:

• Simplified and high-fidelity multi-body orbital mechanics
• Impulsive and low-thrust trajectory design and optimization
• Traveling Salesman Problem and Facility Location Problem analysis
• General astrodynamics analysis including orbit and covariance propagation, maneuver design and optimization for orbit transfer, station keeping, disposal, and reentry events
• 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
• Using optimal control theory, 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
• Research and development including building new flight dynamics tools and features to cultivate and maintain modern internal tool bases
• Use of external tools like ASSET, SNOPT, Copernicus, GMAT, EMTG, CasADi, Heyoka, etc. where appropriate to augment internally developed capabilities

• Maneuver and orbit design, selection, and optimization for missions that support Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) objectives with complex operational constraints
• Trajectory design and optimization for launch vehicles and spacecraft for missions operating in LEO, MEO, HEO, XGEO, as well as interplanetary