Systems Engineer, Spacecraft Operations (RPO)

Washington · Costa Mesa, CA (OC-00) · USD 146,000-194,000 · 4+ years experience · Full-time · Posted Sep 24, 2026

At a glance

As a Spacecraft Operations Systems Engineer for RPO, you own how our spacecraft plan, rehearse, and fly close to other objects.
This role is directly tied to ongoing programs within Anduril's Space Business Line, developing fully integrated hardware and software systems to address growing space threats.
RPO campaigns involve validating procedures against hardware-in-the-loop testbeds, building and running simulations, and pushing ops constraints back into GNC, flight software, and ground software designs.

Design and own RPO mission plans: relative motion design, approach and hold-point sequencing, delta-V budgets, and the timeline that ties them to comm passes, lighting, and ground contact
Build passive safety into every approach, so that a missed burn, a dropped pass, or an off-nominal state doesn't put the vehicle on a collision trajectory
Author the flight rules and procedures that govern close approach: keep-out volume enforcement, go/no-go gates, abort and breakout criteria, custody handoffs, and conjunction screening against both the target and third parties
Own the mission operations plans and procedures for spacecraft programs across all phases, including LEOP, commissioning, on-orbit checkout, and operations
Drive the pre-launch campaign from the ops side: write and run day-in-the-life and mission rehearsals, inject the failures, and turn every finding into a procedure change or a design change
Work with AI&T as the operations voice, validating procedures and command sequences on flatsats and hardware-in-the-loop testbeds before they touch flight hardware
Feed operational constraints back into GNC, flight software, ground software, and comms design
Create and analyze the metrics used to debug and monitor vehicle and campaign performance
Triage anomalies, root cause failures, and coordinate next steps under time pressure
Train operators and mission crews on Anduril spacecraft and on RPO execution specifically

Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance
Strong engineering background from industry or school, ideally in Aerospace Engineering, Astrodynamics, Computer Science, or another engineering field
4+ years of professional spacecraft operations, mission planning, or flight dynamics experience
Direct RPO experience on a flown or near-flight mission, on either the planning or execution side: relative orbit design, proximity operations trajectory planning, maneuver planning and reconstruction, or close-approach execution on console
Experience taking a spacecraft through pre-launch operational readiness: AI&T support, procedure validation, mission rehearsals, day-in-the-life testing, and operational readiness reviews
Ability to quickly understand and navigate complex systems and detailed requirements
Capable of solving complex technical problems with little oversight
Clear written communication, including procedures, flight rules, and training material

Experience on on-orbit servicing, inspection, docking, or refueling missions
Experience with autonomous or onboard relative navigation, including vision-based or optical relative nav
Flight dynamics depth: orbit determination, maneuver calibration, and maneuver reconstruction
Experience with conjunction assessment and space traffic coordination
Experience operating government, DoD, or IC spacecraft
Experience with STK/Astrogator, ODTK, MATLAB, or Simulink
Experience with Python and Linux systems
Experience with testing and validation on flatsats and hardware-in-the-loop testbeds