Principal Spacecraft Systems Engineer II - Mission SEIT

Principal Spacecraft Systems Engineer II – Mission SEIT Lead

Join to apply for the Principal Spacecraft Systems Engineer II – Mission SEIT Lead role at Cesium Astro.

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 Cesium Astro, 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, Cesium Astro is the place for you.

We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking individuals to join our team.

This position is for a passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking Principal Spacecraft Systems Engineer II (Mission SEIT Lead) to support our satellite systems projects. If you enjoy working in a startup environment and leading teams through the complexity and accomplishments of full life‑cycle mission development and sustainment, we would like to hear from you.

In this role, you will lead and mentor a team of Systems Engineering and Test professionals (SEIT group) in defining end‑to‑end mission capabilities, requirements, interfaces, and test campaigns for our satellite projects, including all relevant segments: space, ground, operations, and launch. You will work within a leadership triad of SEIT lead, program management, and responsible engineering (RE) leadership to ensure Cesium Astro missions excel within cost and schedule objectives.

You will collaborate with several functional organizations at Cesium Astro to ensure the technical success of each program. As the expert contributor to mission definition and verification, you will employ best practices such as technical performance measures, decision analyses, system budgets, requirements elicitation and definition, V&V planning, test practices, change management, risk management, and mitigation. You will guide, plan, and set expectations for design teams implementing requirements and CONOPS, delivering capability ready for assembly, integration, and test (AI&T) and ultimately launch and mission operations.

• Minimum of 11 years of engineering experience, including a minimum of 8 years of satellite mission systems/design experience.
• Bachelor of Science (BS) or Master of Science (MS) degree in a relevant engineering field (Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, etc.) from an accredited university or institution.
• Experience leading cross‑functional teams.
• Experience developing and managing CONOPS, interfaces, technical performance measures, requirements compliance matrices, V&V plans, and system test plans.
• Experience structuring and evaluating decisions (conducting trade studies).
• Experience reporting progress and plans to stakeholders.
• Experience integrating multi‑project interdependencies.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Sense of urgency, with the ability to work well under pressure.

• Experience with RF communications missions/payloads.
• Experience working with government/military customers.
• Proposal writing.
• System architecture definition.

$185,000 - $225,000 a year

Full‑time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability, and retirement plans.

Cesium Astro is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note:

Cesium Astro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to Cesium Astro team members will be considered property of Cesium Astro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.