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Mission Design and Flight Dynamics Manager
Job Location:
Job Location:
Boulder, CO - USA
Yearly Salary:
USD 170000 - 230000
Yearly Salary:
Posted:
1 October 2026 (4 days ago)
Posted:
Application Deadline:
29 December 2026
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Vacancies:
Job Summary
Impulse Space is building high-performance in-space transportation vehicles operating across LEO GEO cislunar and interplanetary regimes. We are seeking a leader for our Mission Design and Flight Dynamics team the group that turns customer objectives into executable missions from first concept and proposal through flight operations and disposal. You will build and lead the team set its technical direction and stay hands-on in the hardest analysis working closely with Business Development Space Operations GNC and Propulsion.
Responsibilities
- Build lead and mentor a team of navigation flight dynamics and mission design engineers owning hiring career development technical standards and the teams roadmap across programs and pursuits.
- Serve as the technical authority for mission design trajectory orbit determination and maneuver decisions from concept through end of mission.
- Lead mission solutioning for inbound customers and RFP responses translating customer objectives into CONOPS and demonstrating how Impulse vehicles close the mission including fit checks against both as-built and concept-phase vehicles (mass volume CAD accommodation propellant power and link budgets).
- Partner with Business Development and customers to capture requirements run rapid feasibility studies and deliver compelling mission design content for proposals and customer meetings.
- Maintain a current understanding of product line performance and capabilities and feed mission needs back into vehicle roadmaps and concept-phase designs.
- Direct trajectory design and optimization across regimes and propulsion types leading trades that balance ΔV time of flight operational complexity and navigation sensitivity.
- Define navigation architectures and advance orbit determination and inertial navigation beyond LEO including radiometric and optical navigation.
- Own flight dynamics support to Space Operations including planning executing and reconstructing nominal and novel maneuvers orbit determination conjunction assessment and critical mission phases and contingencies.
- Drive the teams toolchain and automation building production-quality tools for propagation targeting orbit determination maneuver reconstruction and rapid mission analysis and visualization with automated maneuver planning and execution that scales across a growing fleet.
- Support licensing and regulatory work for missions including debris mitigation and disposal analyses.
Minimum Qualifications
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering Astrodynamics Physics Applied Mathematics or related field.
- 10 years of demonstrated experience in spacecraft flight dynamics astrodynamics or mission design.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical trades clearly to customers executives and non-specialists.
- Demonstrated experience supporting spacecraft operations or mission-critical events.
- Proficiency in Python and/or C for engineering tool development.
- Demonstrated experience developing production-quality technical software.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering or related field.
- Flight experience in GEO cislunar or interplanetary mission regimes.
- Demonstrated 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.
- Demonstrated experience automating operational flight dynamics pipelines and scaling them.
- Customer-facing experience including proposals RFP responses or capture efforts.
- Hands-on experience with spacecraft build payload integration or CAD-based fit checks.
- Proven ability to lead effectively in a startup environment.
Additional Information:
Compensation bands are determined by role level location and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills education experience technical capabilities and internal addition to base salary for full-time hires you may also be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options and access to medical vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
Impulse Spaces spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e. U.S. citizen U.S. national lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder) an individual granted asylum in the U.S. or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State Commerce or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race color religion gender national origin/ethnicity veteran status disability status age sexual orientation gender identity marital status mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Required Experience:
Manager
