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Salary: USD 150,000 - 190,000 / annual
Gravitics is building large-scale orbital structures for commercial space operations and government/defense missions. We are seeking an experienced System Safety Engineer to own end-to-end system safety for pressurized spacecraft and modular orbital structures that approach, berth to, and operate attached to crewed space stations.
You will lead the complete safety lifecycle: conducting hazard analyses during design phases, authoring safety data packages, and serving as the company's principal safety representative before station operators and NASA safety review panels. You will provide independent safety assessment of the design, working closely with but separate from systems, avionics, propulsion, and software teams.
Core responsibilities include:
• Author and maintain the System Safety Program Plan (SSPP), owning hazard analysis baselines, hazard tracking, and safety verification tracking through closure.
• Own the technical relationship with station operator and NASA safety review panels. Prepare, present, and close phased (Phase 0/I, II, and III) safety data packages per SSP 30599 and SSP 50808.
• Lead preliminary and detailed hazard analyses, authoring hazard reports with causes, controls, and verifications. Oversee supporting system-level analyses including Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), Fault Tree Analyses (FTA) for catastrophic and critical hazards, Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analyses (FMECA), and operating/support hazard analyses for ground, launch-site, and on-orbit operations.
• Define safety requirements for and independently assess, verify, and defend two-fault-tolerant (three independent inhibit) architectures required for catastrophic hazards, including pressure systems, propulsion, reaction control, batteries, structures, mechanisms, berthing interfaces, and cabin environmental monitoring.
• Assess fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) design to ensure no single credible failure endangers the host station or crew during approach, berthing, attached operations, and departure.
• Bring hazard analysis into open design trades early (propulsion architecture, battery redundancy, fault containment) so safety drives design rather than being retrofitted.
• Flow NASA human-rating and visiting-vehicle safety requirements into verifiable engineering requirements. Trace hazard controls to verification across hardware, software, and operational procedures using tools like Jama or DOORS.
• Work with flight software and software assurance teams to identify safety-critical software functions and verify abort, hold, retreat, and inhibit logic.
• Support range safety data packages (AFSPCMAN 91-710), hazardous ground operations procedures, propellant loading, and launch licensing safety inputs.
• Participate in Failure Review Boards. Assess test anomalies, nonconformance, waivers, and deviations for safety impact, keeping residual risk within human-spaceflight tolerances.
• Help build the Safety & Mission Assurance function as the company grows, including mentoring additional safety engineers.
Travel: Approximately 10–20% to company facilities, customer sites, safety review meetings, and launch-site operations.
REQUIREMENTS:
• 10+ years of system safety engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or human-spaceflight programs.
• Demonstrated expertise in hazard analysis methodologies (FHA, FTA, FMECA), safety-critical system design, and fault-tolerance architecture.
• Experience with NASA human-rating requirements, visiting-vehicle safety review processes, and safety data package development.
• Proficiency with requirements management tools (Jama, DOORS, or equivalent).
• Strong communication skills for presenting technical safety assessments to government and customer review panels.
• Advanced degree with focus on system safety, risk, or reliability engineering (preferred).
