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Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Spacecraft Operations Engineer II to lead mission operations for a growing fleet of satellites supporting commercial and government customers. Based at Rocket Lab's Long Beach headquarters, you will ensure the health, safety, and optimal performance of diverse missions including LEO constellations, interplanetary exploration, LEO rendezvous, and Space Development Agency deployments.
In this role, you will serve as the mission operations technical lead, setting technical direction and strategy for operations while planning and prioritizing the work of the operations staff. You'll act as the primary operations point of contact for program-level design decisions and trades. Key responsibilities include advocating for operability across the program by influencing spacecraft and ground architecture upstream to ensure vehicles are designed for safe, efficient, and autonomous operation.
You will own mission operations requirements and lead requirements validation and verification for spacecraft missions and system-level capabilities. You'll define automation strategy and lead development of robust, software-driven methods for mission operations, testing, and data analysis. This includes designing, developing, and testing flight software sequences and FDIR/telemetry configurations for spacecraft health and fault management.
Additionally, you will architect, develop, and test ground software for long-duration operations, including scripting and automation frameworks that scale across a growing fleet. You'll establish and steward integration, testing, and maintenance of mission operations tooling and codebases, including CI, version control, and release discipline. You'll author and own interface specifications, CONOPS, contingency procedures, and operational design documents.
You'll lead validation of flight products and procedures against spacecraft simulation tools (flatsat, HITL, SIL, digital twins), support AIT teams across multiple spacecraft integrated tests, and provide program support to team leads and program managers. You'll serve as a key technical interface between New Zealand and USA engineering teams and represent mission operations in program milestone reviews, design reviews, and readiness gates.
Required qualifications: Bachelor's degree in engineering (software, computer, electrical, aerospace, mechanical, or related technical discipline); 8+ years of direct experience in space mission design, satellite subsystems, ground systems, spacecraft command control, or spacecraft operations; 3+ years of experience leading teams of engineers through spacecraft missions or related aerospace projects. Secret clearance required.
