Orbital Determination Engineer

Principal Orbital Determination Engineer

One of our clients is building a new generation of spacecraft designed to solve some of the most challenging problems in orbit. As their missions become increasingly complex, they're looking for a Principal Orbital Determination Engineer to lead the development of the astrodynamics capabilities that underpin mission success.

This is an opportunity to work at the forefront of orbital mechanics, state estimation, and Space Domain Awareness, developing advanced algorithms capable of tracking, characterising, and analysing dynamic spacecraft operating in increasingly congested orbital environments.

If you're passionate about solving difficult astrodynamics problems and want to help shape the future of space operations, we'd love to hear from you.

• Lead the development of advanced orbit determination and state estimation algorithms using techniques such as Extended Kalman Filters, Unscented Kalman Filters, and batch estimation.
• Design high-fidelity orbit propagation, trajectory analysis, and maneuver detection capabilities.
• Develop software and simulation tools for tracking and characterising resident space objects.
• Analyse multi-source observational data to improve orbit prediction accuracy.
• Work closely with mission, software, GNC, and systems engineering teams to integrate orbital intelligence capabilities into flight systems.
• Mentor engineers while helping define the company's long-term astrodynamics roadmap.

• Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Astrodynamics, Physics or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in orbit determination, orbital mechanics, astrodynamics or state estimation.
• Strong understanding of orbital dynamics, spacecraft trajectory analysis and estimation theory.
• Strong programming experience in Python, C++ and/or MATLAB.
• Experience with tools such as STK, GMAT, Orekit, Free Flyer or similar is highly desirable.
• Background in Space Domain Awareness, satellite operations, rendezvous & proximity operations, or mission analysis would be advantageous.
• Own one of the company's most technically challenging engineering disciplines.
• Work alongside experienced engineers from some of the world's leading aerospace organisations.
• Help build technology supporting next-generation spacecraft and advanced orbital missions.
• High degree of autonomy with genuine influence over technical direction and architecture.
• Competitive salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits.