Senior Systems Engineer - Rocket Engine​/Thruster Programs

Senior Staff Systems Engineer - Rocket Engine / Thruster Programs

Full-time

Agile Space Industries is a rapidly growing supplier of propulsion hardware and engineering services for the space industry. Headquartered in Durango, Colorado, with expanding operations in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, Agile has achieved more than 40% year-over-year growth for the past three years, and our momentum continues to accelerate.

At Agile, we design, build, and test in-space propulsion systems that give spacecraft the ability to maneuver with precision, reliability, and purpose. Our technologies play a critical role in missions that range from lunar landings and resource utilization to national defense, human exploration, and commercial space transport.

We are seeking bold and driven individuals who thrive in a hands‑on, fast-moving environment and want to help write the next chapter of space history as part of a close-knit, innovative team.

Agile is seeking an experienced Systems Engineer to provide end-to‑end systems engineering leadership across rocket engine and thruster development programs. This role is responsible for driving a clear, executable thread from customer mission and CONOPS through system requirements, architecture, design, verification, qualification, and delivery.

The ideal candidate brings strong system‑level thinking and deep technical experience in propulsion or related aerospace hardware. This role works directly with the customer and internal teams to define the mission, translate it into requirements, and ensure the system is designed, built, and tested to meet those objectives. This position is accountable for maintaining technical coherence across disciplines and driving system‑level decisions throughout the program lifecycle.

The role requires leadership in requirements definition and flowdown, architecture development, trade studies, risk management, and verification and validation planning and execution. The candidate is responsible for working with the customer to drive agreement on requirements.

Agile operates in a fast-paced development environment. This role is expected to take ownership, drive decisions, and ensure alignment across teams, customers, and suppliers to deliver a working, testable system.

• Work directly with customers to define mission objectives, CONOPS, and system success criteria
• Translate mission needs into clear, testable system requirements and maintain end-to-end traceability through delivery
• Lead system architecture development and trade studies, including evaluation of performance, risk, cost, and schedule impacts
• Ensure consistency and integration across propulsion, structures, avionics, thermal, fluids, and manufacturing interfaces
• Drive requirement decomposition and flowdown to subsystems and components
• Own and maintain technical baseline and configuration control
• Lead the definition, planning, and execution of the verification and validation approach, including qualification plans and acceptance test procedures (ATP)
• Ensure verification is tied directly to requirements and planned early in the development lifecycle
• Lead and support gated product development reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, etc.)
• Identify, track, and drive closure of technical risks, interface issues, and system gaps
• Independently analyze system performance and recommend design or architecture changes as needed
• Facilitate communication between customers, internal teams, and suppliers, ensuring clear understanding of system intent, constraints, and decisions
• Support failure investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective actions
• Contribute to improving systems engineering processes, tools, and execution across programs

• B.S. in Engineering or related technical field (or equivalent experience)
• 10+ years of experience driving systems development in aerospace or related technical field
• Experience in systems engineering on rocket engine, thruster, or similar aerospace hardware development programs
• Strong understanding of propulsion systems, fluid systems, and system integration challenges
• Demonstrated experience in requirements definition, decomposition, and…