Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer

Impulse Space • Boulder, CO

22h

About The Position

As a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer at Impulse Space, you will lead the development and operational execution of flight dynamics capabilities across current and future programs. This role spans real-time mission support, automation of maneuver execution, trajectory development for new missions, and advancement of inertial navigation beyond LEO. You will work closely with Space Operations, Mission Design, GNC, and Software to make ambitious trajectories operationally executable.

Requirements

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Astrodynamics, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related field (M.S. or Ph.D. preferred)
• 7+ years of experience in spacecraft flight dynamics, astrodynamics, or mission design
• Demonstrated experience with orbit propagation, maneuver targeting, and covariance analysis
• Experience supporting spacecraft operations or mission-critical events
• Proficiency in Python and/or C++ for engineering tool development
• Experience developing production-quality technical software

Nice To Haves

• Experience in GEO, cislunar, or interplanetary mission regimes
• Experience with low-thrust trajectory design and optimization
• Development or maintenance of orbit determination filters (EKF, UKF, batch least squares)
• Familiarity with DSN-based navigation, optical navigation, or deep-space tracking
• Experience automating operational flight dynamics pipelines
• Background collaborating closely with GNC and flight software teams
• Familiarity with GMAT, STK, Orekit, MONTE, or similar astrodynamics tools

Responsibilities

• Support Space Operations in planning, analyzing, and executing nominal and novel orbital maneuvers
• Automate maneuver planning and execution workflows to improve speed, reliability, and scalability
• Build and maintain flight dynamics tools used daily by Space Ops (orbital propagation, targeting, orbital determination, covariance analysis, maneuver reconstruction)
• Partner with Mission Design to develop and mature new trajectories for GEO, cislunar, and interplanetary missions
• Contribute to development of inertial navigation and orbit determination capabilities across GEO, cislunar, and deep-space regimes
• Perform trade studies balancing ΔV, time-of-flight, operational complexity, and navigation sensitivity
• Support critical mission phases with high-confidence analysis and rapid turnaround

Benefits

• long-term incentives, in the form of stock options
• access to medical, vision & dental coverage
• access to a 401(k) retirement plan

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior