Associate Staff - Orbital Dynamics

Job Description

Group 99 is seeking a highly motivated Associate Staff member with a focus on orbital dynamics to join our team. The ideal candidate is someone who wants to make a meaningful impact on real-world systems, thrives in technically challenging environments, and takes ownership from concept through execution.

You will work on problems spanning orbit determination, trajectory design, and space system analysis, contributing to missions and technologies that operate in complex and dynamic regimes.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and apply models for orbital mechanics, trajectory propagation, and perturbation analysis
• Perform orbit determination and estimation using real or simulated data
• Analyze space system performance, including maneuver planning and mission design
• Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to integrate orbital dynamics with broader system requirements
• Build, validate, and maintain analysis tools and simulation frameworks
• Communicate technical results clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Required Qualifications

• M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field. A Bachelor’s degree with at least 5 years of experience would be considered.
• Strong foundation in orbital mechanics and astrodynamics
• Experience with scientific computing (e.g., Python, MATLAB, or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to follow through on complex technical work from initial concept to delivery
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with orbit determination techniques (e.g., Kalman filtering, batch estimation)
• Familiarity with space mission design or operations
• Experience working with real sensor data or flight systems
• Is comfortable working in ambiguous problem spaces and helping define solutions
• Communicates clearly and works effectively in team settings