System Safety & Risk Assurance Engineer (Contract

System Safety & Risk Assurance Engineer (Contract)

Greater Seattle Area

AtGravitics,we'renot exploring space—we're rebuilding it.

We'recreating the infrastructure for a thriving space economy, enabling humanity to flourish beyond Earth. Our vision is bold, butwe'renot just dreamers;we'redoers. We design and manufacture large-scale orbital structures that enable commercial operations while meeting the requirements of defense and government missions.

Our systems are built to scale and built to last—bridging commercial innovation with mission-critical performance. Ifyou'reready to lay the foundations for a new era in space, embrace a culture of relentless learning and innovation, and contribute to a future where humanity's reach extends farther,Graviticsis the place for you.

Let'sbuild the future together.

In this role, you willbe responsible for evaluating off-nominal conditions, influencing spacecraft architecture, and driving system-level trades across performance, mass, safety, and reliability. Crucially, you will ensure our modular structures and pressurized spacecraft meet the rigorous criteriarequiredfor human-rated flight profiles and government/commercial space program delivery.

• Hazard & Failure Analysis: Lead and support spacecraft system safety assessments, including Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA).
• Human-Rating & Pressurized Systems Safety: Own hazard analysis and safety compliance for high-pressure systems, structures/mechanisms, and Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) required for human habitation.
• Fault Management (FDIR): Develop and refine fault-protection concepts including fault detection, isolation, containment, recovery,safing, and mission-recovery strategies across flight software, avionics, and operational segments.
• Cross-Functional System Integration: Collaborate with Chief Engineers, Manufacturing, and Integration & Test teams to translate safety and mission assuranceobjectivesinto verifiable technical requirements.
• Verification & Testing: Define and execute verification plans for hazard controls and fault-protection requirements through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, simulations, and fault injection.
• Root Cause & Anomaly Resolution: Lead orparticipatein Failure Review Boards (FRBs), analyzing testing anomalies, waivers, deviations, and operational constraints for safety and mission impacts.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or a related technical STEM field.
• Experience: 5+ years of direct experience in systems engineering, system safety, reliability engineering, or mission assurance within space system development.
• Domain Expertise: Deep technical understanding of structural integrity, pressure vessels, leak paths, or human-rating safety frameworks (e.g., NASA-STD-8719.13 or military range requirements).
• Execution Mindset: Comfortable navigating technical ambiguity, balancing engineering rigor with rapid product manufacturing and testing cadences.
• U.S. Person Status: Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual to conform to U.S. space technology export regulations (ITAR/EAR).

• Prior experience with life-support (ECLSS) systems, active thermal loops, or human-tended space station docking mechanisms.
• Familiarity with requirements and engineering configuration tracking systems (e.g., Jama, Jira, Confluence, or NX/Simcenterenvironment pipelines).
• Direct experience handling commercial launch licensing approvals (FAA-AST) or working alongside commercial space station operators (e.g., Axiom Space, U.S. Space Force).

This position requires approximately
10–20% travelto support business needs, including visits to company facilities, customer sites, industry events, and team meetings. Travel frequency may vary based on business priorities and project requirements.

This position will initially be engaged as a contract (1099) role, with the…