Inversion Space
Staff Mission Design Engineer
$161K–$221K
Playa Vista, California, United States · Staff · Full-time · Posted Aug 13, 2026
- Experience
- Typically, 9+ years in mission design, trajectory analysis, or flight performance for launch, reentry, hypersonic, or missile systems.
- Education
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Visa sponsorship
- Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State for ITAR compliance.
About the job
Own mission-level analysis for next-generation reentry vehicles, defining reference missions and flight envelopes and guiding vehicle design through performance studies and customer mission planning.
What you'll do
- Develop design reference missions and flight envelopes; lead performance sensitivity and trade studies.
- Support 3-DOF and 6-DOF Monte Carlo simulation campaigns, from dispersion definition through results synthesis.
- Support customer constellation design and mission architecture, translate mission needs into vehicle and trajectory requirements, and mentor engineers.
What they ask for
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Experience with trajectory optimization using an industry-standard tool (POST, OTIS, TAOS, Copernicus, or similar), and developing and exercising 3-DOF and 6-DOF flight simulations.
- Strong fundamentals in flight mechanics, orbital mechanics, atmospheric entry dynamics, and statistical and probabilistic analysis, including Monte Carlo and dispersion analysis.
- Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or C++; strong communication skills, including customer-facing work; ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret/Top Secret security clearance.
Nice to have
- Experience with constellation design, coverage analysis, or orbit propagation tools (e.g., STK, GMAT).
- Experience reverse engineering vehicle performance, range safety and footprint analysis, reconciling simulations with flight test data, or familiarity with vehicle GNC algorithms.
Pay
$161,000-$221,000 USD annual base salary
Tools
POST, OTIS, TAOS, Copernicus, Python, MATLAB, C++, STK
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative