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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, including 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 internal and external missions
- Architectural development support for existing and future missions
- Collaboration with program and product management teams
The role requires deep expertise in spacecraft subsystems, space environment physics, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics. You will work with deliverables for internal leadership, the board of directors, and investors.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or technical discipline
- Active TS/SCI security clearance (required for program access)
- 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
Desirable qualifications include Master's or PhD, proficiency with MATLAB, Python, and STK, experience with electrical subsystem testing, thermal vacuum testing, random vibration testing, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
Rocket Lab builds rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems for missions ranging from interplanetary exploration to national security. The Space Systems team has enabled over 1,700 missions and works with partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.
