Navigation Engineer II

Job Overview

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mission Design and Navigation Section 324 builds maps and tools for interplanetary navigation, designs efficient routes for spacecraft, and pilots spacecraft safely to their ultimate targets. The Solar System Dynamics Group (SSD) is a unique team within the section that focuses on orbit prediction of all natural planetary objects, assessment of hazardous near‑Earth objects, physical characterization of solar system objects, science‑driven modeling, and management of ephemeris knowledge.

As a Navigation Engineer II, you will be a member of SSD, reporting to the Group Supervisor and programmatically to Program/Project Leads.

• Compute and analyze high‑precision orbits for all Near‑Earth Objects (NEOs) and predict their close approaches to Earth, reporting impact probabilities.
• Estimate, predict, and analyze SSD’s small‑body ephemerides, maintaining SSD’s small‑body database.
• Monitor and maintain database systems, including in‑house and AWS‑hosted Postgre
  
  SQL primary and replica instances.
• Monitor and maintain existing AWS assets (EC2, S3, Cloud Front, ALB, Lambda, RDS).
• Support development, maintenance, and improvement of cloud‑optimized code for SSD’s current systems (automatic update system, Sentry, Scout, and mission design tools).
• Perform navigation tasks, including data collection, weighting and processing, estimation of spacecraft orbital parameters and uncertainties, and estimation of solve‑for model parameters.
• Perform orbit determination analyses for small‑body missions and report directly to project scientists and team leads.

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, astronomy, or related technical discipline with 3 years of relevant experience;
  Master’s with 1 year; or PhD with no relevant experience.
• Wide‑ranging experience in software architecture, asteroid survey, astronomy, or aerospace engineering.
• Solid understanding of advanced principles in orbit determination, software engineering, and astronomy, contributing to new theories or methods.
• Demonstrated ability to present technical results to a broad audience.
• Available to work on site at JPL.

• Broad knowledge of planetary defense, astrodynamics, orbit determination, impact monitoring, and ground surveys.
• Expertise in statistics, probability, and random processes.
• Publication record in planetary defense and small‑body orbit determination.
• Excellent analytical and interpersonal skills.
• Self‑motivated researcher who thrives in a supportive team and can pursue independent studies.
• Ability to lead a multifunctional and/or multidisciplinary team.
• Expert proficiency in Perl.
• Proficiency in FORTRAN, Python, MATLAB, and C/C++.
• Familiarity with SQL database, software development practices, git-based development, and unit testing.
• Understanding of advanced principles in small‑body orbit determination.

JPL offers a broad range of benefits including health, dental, vision, well‑being, retirement plans, paid time off, learning opportunities, rideshare, childcare, flexible schedule, and parental leave. Benefits effective the first day of the month coincident with or immediately following the employee’s start date.

Typical full‑time annual hiring range in Pasadena, California: $111,072 – $130,312.

JPL is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by Federal, state or local law. JPL is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

EEO is the Law.