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Portal Space Systems is seeking a Mission Engineer to help expand humanity's freedom of movement in space. Reporting to the Chief Product Officer, this is a multi-disciplinary role spanning mission design, planning, and operations. You will be instrumental in making orbital missions successful at Portal.
Early focus will center on mission operations, with opportunities for upstream work in mission and trajectory design, vehicle performance studies, and stakeholder engagement with launch vehicle providers, regulators, and customers.
Core Responsibilities:
Mission Operations: Plan and execute operations in Portal's Mission Control Center. Develop protocols and train fellow engineers for console operations. Generate GUIs, procedures, alerts, and mission rules. Schedule ground passes, spacecraft tasks, maneuvers, and coordinate with external space traffic coordination groups. Develop automations to increase fleet capability while reducing operator burden.
Mission Design: Develop Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for upcoming missions. Develop and execute 3DOF simulations to identify unique mission capabilities and solutions. Track vehicle performance and perform trade studies to meet customer needs.
Mission Management: Identify and manage mission needs and customer requirements. Identify, plan, and close launch, regulatory, and customer deliverables. Coordinate internally with Program Management, Engineering, and Supply Chain. Plan detailed logistics for launch campaigns and support activities at launch sites.
As a startup, expect a wide range of learning, development, and leadership opportunities. This is a formative role in real mission operations. Successful candidates demonstrate extreme ownership, embrace ambiguity and broad responsibilities, and distill concepts into disciplined operations with rigorous attention to detail.
Work Expectations: Primarily onsite with travel up to 25%. Willingness to support real-time mission operations with shifting on-call support.
Qualifications:
- Minimum 3 years of experience in launch vehicle or spacecraft development or operations
- Bachelor's degree in engineering
- Experience in development engineering or similar activities requiring ownership across several portions of the product lifecycle
- Experience in test, launch, or mission operations, or other similar activities requiring real-time operations support
Bonus Points:
- Experience obtaining regulatory approvals from FCC, ITU, NOAA, Range, etc.
- Deep familiarity with SSCMAN 91-710, SMC-S-016, and/or SMC-S-025
- Direct familiarity with one or more space traffic coordination systems
- Experience with 3DOF simulation tools such as STK, Copernicus, FreeFlyer
- Demonstrated past ownership and successful delivery of complex systems
- Willingness to obtain security clearance
Note: This position may involve access to ITAR-controlled technical data. Eligibility requires U.S. person status (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or other protected individual as defined by U.S. law).
