Senior Systems Engineer, Space Products

The Company

Astra’s mission is to Improve Life on Earth from Space® by creating a healthier and more connected planet. Today, Astra offers one of the lowest cost-per-launch dedicated orbital launch services of any operational launch provider in the world, and one of the industry’s first flight-proven electric propulsion systems for satellites, Astra Spacecraft Engine™. Astra delivered its first commercial launch to low Earth orbit in 2021, making it the fastest company in history to reach this milestone, just five years after it was founded in 2016. Astra (NASDAQ: ASTR) was the first space launch company to be publicly traded on Nasdaq.

The Opportunity:

We are seeking a talented and experienced Senior Systems Engineer to join our team in the development of cutting-edge spacecraft systems, especially for electric propulsion systems. In this role, you will be responsible for the systems engineering domain in support of customer programs, developing and using high-fidelity end-to-end models of spacecraft systems to conduct system optimization and requirements definition and verification, and contributing to the design of current, next-generation, and future systems. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure that all aspects of the system design are integrated, tested, and validated to meet customer requirements.   This is a unique opportunity to own end-to-end development of spacecraft propulsion systems. Your contributions will be launched into orbit soon!

How You'll Fulfill Your MIssion:

• Own the systems engineering domain for one or more customer programs
• Develop and maintain high-fidelity models of spacecraft systems (specifically propulsion systems), including mechanical, electrical, and software systems.
• Use these models to conduct system optimization, verifying that all systems meet performance, reliability, and cost requirements.
• Work with cross-functional teams, including mechanical, electrical, software, and test engineers, to ensure that all systems are integrated and validated.
• Design experiments and conduct hands-on testing to improve system models.
• Participate and guide system design and development at all stages of the development lifecycle.
• Conduct trade studies and analyses to determine the optimal design of current, next-generation, and future systems.
• Define, document, and maintain system requirements, interfaces, and architectures.
• Define and author qualification and acceptance test plans and reports
• Collaborate with suppliers, customers, and cross-functional teams to ensure that system requirements are met.

Why We Value You:

• B.S. in engineering or another technical field relevant to space products or satellites
• 3+ years of experience in systems engineering for spacecraft electric propulsion, or aerospace systems
• Experience working with electrical propulsion & power systems
• Experience with aerospace qualification and acceptance testing programs
• Experience in system performance and parametric modeling
• Hands-on hardware test and integration experience
• Domain knowledge of system engineering, integration & test
• Experience with systems engineering tools such as JAMA, DOORS, DNG, or similar

Desired Multipliers:

• M.S or PhD in engineering or another technical field relevant to space products or satellites
• 5+ years of experience in systems engineering for spacecraft electric propulsion, or aerospace systems
• Experience with Capture and Proposals
• Experience with interfacing with customers
• Experience with 3D CAD and PLM software (Siemens NX and Teamcenter preferred)
• Experience in reliability, maintainability and supportability analysis and execution
• System Safety analysis experience including Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and Functional Hazard Analysis
• Experience in high growth / startup environments