Flight Dynamics Engineer

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.   At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.
We are seeking a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer to lead orbit design, trajectory analysis, and orbit determination analysis efforts across our spacecraft operations. You will own the flight dynamics function from early mission concept through launch, commissioning, and on-orbit operations. This role requires deep technical expertise, strong cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to build scalable tools and processes in a fast-paced startup environment.   You will play a critical role in shaping mission architecture, ensuring orbital safety and compliance, and enabling reliable spacecraft operations. You will work closely with the engineering team, program management to ensure the successful build and launch of our satellite. Element will be the largest, most powerful rideshare satellite in LEO. We’re launching eight of them in the next four years, starting with our first launch this year.  Together, our small team will design, build, and iterate to reduce mass and cost while increasing performance, reliability, and manufacturability of a new generation of satellites. Let’s build! 

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead orbit design, trade studies, and trajectory optimization for LEO/GEO/cislunar/deep space missions (as applicable).
• Develop and maintain high-fidelity mission analysis models.
• Perform launch window analysis, injection targeting, and dispersions analysis.
• Define and validate ΔV budgets across all mission phases.
• Support constellation design, station-keeping strategies, and end-of-life disposal planning.
• Develop orbit determination strategies using tracking data (GNSS, radiometric, optical, etc.).
• Support maneuver planning, targeting, and execution analysis.
• Establish conjunction assessment and collision avoidance processes.