Senior Software Engineer I​/II - Simulation Engineering

Littleton, CO

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

At Rocket Lab, we’re not just launching rockets — we're building the future of space. Our Space Systems team builds everything from complete spacecraft, precision payloads to the components and subsystems that allow them to thrive in space, like solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, radios, and more.

Our Space Systems team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing to national security and defense initiatives. The team has built spacecraft, payloads, and components for missions to the Moon and Mars, working with partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force. Whether it’s a single high-performance spacecraft, constellation, or the vertically integrated components that help them get to space — our world class Space Systems team is empowering some of the boldest and most ambitious space missions.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Software Engineer I/II – Simulation Engineering to join our team, based out of our Littleton, CO site. In this role, you will focus on architecting large-scale simulation environments and driving high-level data analysis to solve complex aerospace challenges. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to design distributed simulation campaigns, extract actionable insights from massive datasets, and support critical mission decision-making processes.

This position is ideal for someone with a strong background in big data analysis, distributed computational modeling, and software systems architecture, who thrives in solving constellation-level technical problems.

• Architect and deploy large-scale, distributed simulation environments for complex aerospace systems, including multi-vehicle and constellation-level modeling.
• Develop robust data pipelines to process, analyze, and visualize massive datasets generated by high-fidelity simulations.
• Derive actionable engineering and mission-level insights through advanced statistical analysis and data modeling of simulation outputs.
• Optimize simulation infrastructure for high-performance computing (HPC) and distributed cluster environments to ensure scalability.
• Collaborate with domain experts to define campaign-level requirements and translate mission objectives into scalable simulation architectures.
• Lead the integration of complex simulation ecosystems, ensuring synchronization across multiple subsystems and analytical tools.

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Please note:

This position can be hired at the Senior Software Engineer I or Senior Software Engineer II level.)

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of industry experience focusing on large-scale simulation engineering, data analysis, or distributed computational modeling.
• Proficiency in languages used for heavy data analysis and simulation infrastructure (e.g., Python, C++, or similar).
• Demonstrated experience architecting and analyzing large-scale Monte Carlo campaigns.
• Experience processing and analyzing large datasets using modern data analytics libraries or frameworks.
• Experience modeling complex, multi-component physical systems (e.g., spacecraft constellations, multi-vehicle architectures, or robotics).
• U.S citizenship required, due to program requirements.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related field.
• 8+ years of industry experience focusing on large-scale simulation engineering, data analysis, or distributed computational modeling.
• Proficiency in languages used for heavy data analysis and…