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Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Engineer to provide technical oversight of satellite and spacecraft programs at their Long Beach headquarters. This is a senior individual contributor role supporting the Space Systems Chief Engineer, with responsibility for ensuring engineering excellence across multiple active missions.
Key responsibilities include:
- Oversight and review of spacecraft system engineering across requirement derivation, verification techniques, performance budgets, and test methods
- Simulation and analysis of spacecraft systems
- Technical leadership in developing future architectures, platforms, and payloads for both internal and external missions
- Architectural development support for existing and new satellite programs
- Collaboration with program and product management teams
The role requires deep expertise in spacecraft subsystems, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics. You will work on missions spanning interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing, and national security applications, with partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or technical discipline
- Active TS/SCI security clearance
- U.S. citizenship (program requirement)
- 12+ years of experience on satellite or spacecraft programs
- Understanding of spacecraft subsystems and components
- Knowledge of space environment, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics
- Satellite operations experience
Desired qualifications include Master's or PhD, proficiency with MATLAB/Python/STK, experience with electrical subsystem testing, thermal vacuum testing, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
