System Safety Engineer, SME

System Safety Engineer, SME - Space Nuclear Propulsion will support the space program located at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama.

The selected candidate will provide System Safety Engineering support for contracted and in-house developments supporting NASA's Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) Office, an opportunity to contribute to one of the agency's most forward‑looking exploration initiatives. The SNP Office is advancing technologies that could dramatically expand the speed, range, and capability of future deep‑space missions by developing and demonstrating high‑performance nuclear propulsion systems.

Within this effort, NASA is exploring both nuclear thermal and nuclear electric propulsion, each offering distinct and complementary advantages for achieving ambitious science and exploration goals. This role offers the opportunity to apply system safety expertise to cutting‑edge aerospace technologies that may help shape the future of human and robotic exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

• Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment & Presentation:
  Identify, analyze, classify (severity & likelihood), and formally present hazards and risks to Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) leadership and risk‑accepting authorities during milestone reviews, Table‑Top Safety Reviews (TTSRs), and flight readiness/certification forums.
• Safety Requirements Compliance & Documentation Review:
  Prepare and/or assess System Safety Program Plans; review Project/Contractor documentation (PWS, SRD, CEI, DRDs, verification procedures, etc.); assess proposed changes, Non‑compliance Reports, and Waiver/Deviation requests to ensure full compliance with NASA Agency, Center, and Program safety requirements.
• Trade Studies & Design/Operations Safety Input:
  Actively participate in trade studies for design, development, operations, and mission events on both in‑house and contracted projects to ensure safety requirements are met, risks are identified/characterized, and appropriate mitigations are implemented.
• Hazard Control Verification & Closure:
  Develop/assess verification plans and Detailed Verification Objectives (DVOs); generate or evaluate safety verification compliance data; track implementation and validation of hazard controls; confirm successful closure of verifications; and develop/present operational hazard control verification evidence to the Safety Verification Board.
• Procedure & Operational Safety Review:
  Review test, checkout, and operating procedures for compliance with approved safety controls and verification requirements.
• Tracking, Reporting & Deliverables:
  Track SSAR review comments and TTSR action items/agreements to closure; prepare and present safety status during COFR, SORR, FRR, and other program reviews; provide required SMASS contract deliverables (weekly/monthly activity reports, MSR/PEB inputs, DRDs, etc.).
• Perform additional system safety engineering tasks as assigned in support of the SLS Vehicle Integration Branch and overall program safety posture.

• This position requires US Citizenship status due to the sensitivity of customer related information.
• Must have a bachelor's degree in the field of engineering, or a related field.
• Must have 20+ years of recent and related work experience.
• Must possess demonstrable experience in the performance of system safety hazard analyses and documenting results (e.g., development of System Safety Analysis Reports (SSARs) including hazard reports defining hazard causes, controls, and methods of verification/validation).
• Extensive experience in the performance of Fault Tree Analysis, Functional Failure Analysis (FFA), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, and/or similar types of system safety engineering analysis.

• Prior experience supporting NASA, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, commercial nuclear, or national laboratory programs involving nuclear systems, radiological systems, reactor Technologies, or nuclear safety is highly desired.
• Experience with nuclear propulsion, space nuclear power, radioisotope power systems, nuclear thermal propulsion, nuclear electric propulsion, or…