Propulsion Systems Engineer

Join a team where your impact reaches beyond the stars! At Terran Orbital, you’re not just part of the system – you’re a vital force propelling our mission forward. As trailblazers in satellite manufacturing and aerospace innovation, we shatter boundaries daily to deliver groundbreaking solutions that power our nation’s defense and commercial missions. We are a unique, fast growing, and trusted team dedicated to swiftly and efficiently designing, building, launching, and operating state of the art satellites for advanced mission constellations.

If you’re driven by purpose, inspired by challenges, and ready to leave your mark on the universe, you’ll find a home and endless opportunities for growth here. Together, let’s redefine what is possible in orbit and beyond!

Terran Orbital is seeking an experienced Propulsion Systems Engineer to join our dynamic team. Reporting to the Integrated Product Team (IPT) Lead – Propulsion
, the Propulsion Systems Engineer will grow & support system design and integration of procured or developed systems and work toward developing high-quality, high-performance modules ready for high-volume manufacturing at an affordable price. The Propulsion Systems Engineer will be responsible for supporting a portfolio of Electric Propulsion Systems (Hall effect thrusters, Gridded ion thrusters, Electrospray thrusters, etc.) that include thrusters, cathodes, PPUs, feed systems, tanks, etc.

• Responsible for overseeing procurements of propulsion systems/components and providing technical/supplier oversight to ensure product delivery
• Responsible for executing product development, and supporting product production, and post-delivery support working with manufacturing, mission assurance, AI&T, and supplier management
• Participating and leading the technical discussions with customers and suppliers to ensure mission success
• Lead and take responsibility for technical reviews to ensure appropriate milestone maturity meets internal and external expectations
• Managing requirements to ensure maturity, feasibility, proper flow-down and traceability, requirements verification, and requirements validation
• Perform mission, system, and vehicle level trade studies to balance risk, cost, and performance
• Supporting assembly, integration, and test activities including build procedures, test plans/procedures, and other verification and validations execution activities
• Develop systems engineering artifacts that support requirements and architecture development; modeling and simulation; interoperability; verification and validation testing; and enterprise deployment and capability monitoring
• Support Propulsion team in executing product development processes & planning
• Champion product improvements to achieve efficient high rate-production

• 2+ years of experience in industry product development with a demonstrated reputation for driving business goals and objectives to completion
• Experience in building and testing EP Systems (Hall effect thrusters, Gridded ion thrusters, Electrospray thrusters, Hollow cathode electron sources)
• Experience working within R&D and production environments
• Experience in development and qualification of space qualified power systems
• Strong leadership & team building skills, candidate must be able to lead and motivate cross functional teams as well as have proven experience in a team environment and interfacing successfully across organizational boundaries
• Exhibited capability to foster an environment which enables application of continuous improvement, novel thinking, and fresh ideas to business challenges resulting in creative and competitive solutions.
• Experience in Program/Project management of new product development and existing product lines
• Ability to define and utilize metrics, manage external suppliers, and manufacturing
• U.S. Citizenship with ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance

• Experience in systems engineering & integration of spacecraft systems
• An understanding of GSFC-STD-7000 General Environmental Verification Standard (GEVS), and SMC-S-016, Test requirements for launch, upper stage…