Space Systems Engineer Jobs
Space Systems Engineer jobs are open from entry-level to principal across defense contractors, aerospace manufacturers, government agencies, and commercial launch companies, with specializations in satellite design, systems integration, and mission architecture. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
Find Space Systems Engineer JobsLooking for remote work? View remote space systems engineer jobs →Student or new grad? View space systems engineer internships →Overview
Showing 5 of 276+ Space Systems Engineer jobs
Infinity’s niche in the aerospace and defense industry is specialized solutions that help bridge the gap between space and ground. This is no small task, and we owe our success to our team who help us fulfill our mission of leveraging the strength of our people and our partners to deliver innovative, intelligent solutions that solve complex challenges. There is always a place at Infinity for a motivated, capable individual seeking a career to better the world. We prioritize supporting our team through exceptional benefits, work-life balance, and structured career development. At Infinity, WE ARE MORE – now, come be more with us!
Job Summary:
The Space Systems Engineer (Senior/SME) provides system-wide technical leadership and management for complex spacecraft and mission programs across conceptualization, requirements definition, design, development, manufacturing, integration, testing, launch, operations, demonstration, sustainment, and documentation. This position directs cross-disciplinary systems engineering efforts, manages technical baselines, interfaces, schedules, risks, and mission readiness, and coordinates government customers, program leadership, launch providers, engineering organizations, and mission operations stakeholders. The SME serves as a senior technical authority for especially complex mission-system decisions and issues.
Key Responsibilities:
System Design & Implementation:
- Lead development and evaluation of spacecraft and mission-system architectures to satisfy mission, performance, reliability, safety, security, and interface requirements; resolve system-level trades and technical risks.
- Direct stakeholder needs analysis, requirements capture and allocation, traceability, operational concept (OPSCON/CONOPS) development, modeling and simulation, verification planning, requirements closeout, and deployment validation.
- Lead cross-organizational interface coordination across spacecraft bus, payloads, flight software, communications, ground systems, launch providers, and mission operations.
- Direct preparation, approval coordination, and configuration control of technical baselines, system specifications, interface control documents (ICDs), verification criteria, and program engineering artifacts.
- Lead architecture and technology trade studies, recommend technically sound system-level decisions, and resolve multidisciplinary design issues.
Troubleshooting & Operational Support
- Direct multidisciplinary investigation and resolution of complex spacecraft, payload, software, communications, and ground-system anomalies and interface issues.
- Manage mission operations and demonstrations for spacecraft, as applicable, including mission readiness, command-and-control coordination, anomaly response, performance monitoring, and operational reporting.
- Oversee root-cause analyses, corrective-action closure, lessons learned, and sustained system reliability improvements.
Project Management & Collaboration
- Lead system-wide technical and programmatic trade studies balancing performance, cost, schedule, resources, risks, and mission outcomes.
- Lead system integration planning, cross-site coordination, interface and configuration control, program milestones, and readiness planning; coordinate use of government launch, operational, and mission facilities as required.
- Direct technical coordination among government customers, program leadership, engineering organizations, contractors, launch providers, and mission operations teams.
- Lead technical planning, schedules, resource coordination, milestone management, risk assessments, technical briefings, and decision support for program leadership.
Documentation & Compliance
- Direct development, review, and configuration control of aerospace specifications, ICDs, requirements documents, verification procedures, engineering analyses, mission products, and program-level documentation.
- Oversee engineering data collection, processing, analysis, interpretation, and documentation; ensure the integrity and traceability of technical baselines and verification evidence.
- Ensure work complies with applicable program, customer, security, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.
- Evaluate emerging mission technologies and systems engineering practices; mentor less experienced engineers and advise program leadership on complex technical issues.
Qualifications:
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, mathematics, or a closely related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience where permitted by program and contract requirements.
- Experience: Minimum 15 years of professional experience supporting aerospace systems, including spacecraft, launch, mission, ground, or related complex aerospace capabilities; including at least 5 years providing system-wide management of spacecraft programs across design, development, integration, test, launch, operations, demonstration, or sustainment.
- Clearance Requirement: Must have an active Top Secret Clearance
- Required Skills:
- Demonstrated leadership of management or systems engineering activities for space-flight hardware development, integration, operation, or maintenance.
- Demonstrated experience directing technical baselines, interfaces, requirements, reviews, mission readiness, and system-level engineering documentation.
- Advanced knowledge of space systems engineering principles and spacecraft lifecycle engineering, including architecture, requirements, integration, verification, and validation.
- Ability to direct multidisciplinary engineering teams and provide system-wide technical judgment under complex mission constraints.
- Experience assessing program risks, engineering tradeoffs, configuration management, technical issues, and corrective actions.
- Excellent executive-level technical communication, problem-solving, coordination, and stakeholder management skills.
-
Ability to lead technical work across program management, government customers, suppliers, launch providers, and operations organizations.
- Preferred Skills:
- Deep experience across spacecraft mission lifecycles, flight and ground segments, launch interfaces, payload integration, communications, or mission operations.
- Experience leading major program reviews, mission-readiness assessments, spacecraft demonstrations, and complex multi-organization integration efforts.
- Advanced experience with model-based systems engineering, simulation, mission data analysis, test automation, or other relevant systems engineering tools.
- Relevant advanced systems engineering or program-management certifications (for example, INCOSE CSEP/ESEP or PMP), or demonstrated equivalent technical leadership.
Work Environment/Physical Requirements:
- Work is generally performed in an office or technical environment and may include on-site work at laboratories, integration and test facilities, mission operations centers, or customer/government locations.
- May require after-hours or weekend support for critical program activities, integration and test events, or mission operations.
- Some travel may be required to support customer meetings, testing, technical reviews, or program milestones.
- Ability to work at a desk and operate a computer for extended periods. Additional site-specific physical or safety requirements may apply to assigned laboratory or hardware activities.
Work Schedule:
This is a full-time position, typically working 40 hours per week. Overtime may be required depending on operational needs.
Infinity Benefits
- Company Culture. Infinity firmly believes that our success is due to the happiness and personal satisfaction of our employees.
- Health Benefits. Infinity covers 100% of the monthly medical and dental premiums for you and your family.
- Rest and Relaxation. Enjoy three weeks of vacation, with the flexibility to use vacation hours in advance before fully accrued.
- Health and Wellness. In addition to vacation, we provide sick leave, plus Flex-Spending Account (FSA) options for medical and dependent care.
- Prepare for the Future. Our 401(k) plan includes company contributions, without requiring matching, along with access to free professional financial planning services.
- Education and Professional Development. We invest in our team’s growth with our Education Reimbursement Program, supporting your career advancement.
- Profit Sharing Plan. Our employees are key to our success, which is why all eligible team members receive an annual payout through our Profit-Sharing Plan.
- And more!
U.S. Citizenship is required
EOE including disability/vet
To learn more about our company and benefits, please visit: Infinity Careers
Anticipated Close Date: Applications are anticipated to remain open for a minimum of 4 calendar days from the date this position is posted. The application period may be extended based on recruitment needs. Applicants are encouraged to apply promptly.
Infinity’s niche in the aerospace and defense industry is specialized solutions that help bridge the gap between space and ground. This is no small task, and we owe our success to our team who help us fulfill our mission of leveraging the strength of our people and our partners to deliver innovative, intelligent solutions that solve complex challenges. There is always a place at Infinity for a motivated, capable individual seeking a career to better the world. We prioritize supporting our team through exceptional benefits, work-life balance, and structured career development. At Infinity, WE ARE MORE – now, come be more with us!
Job Summary:
The Space Systems Engineer (Senior/SME) provides system-wide technical leadership and management for complex spacecraft and mission programs across conceptualization, requirements definition, design, development, manufacturing, integration, testing, launch, operations, demonstration, sustainment, and documentation. This position directs cross-disciplinary systems engineering efforts, manages technical baselines, interfaces, schedules, risks, and mission readiness, and coordinates government customers, program leadership, launch providers, engineering organizations, and mission operations stakeholders. The SME serves as a senior technical authority for especially complex mission-system decisions and issues.
Key Responsibilities:
System Design & Implementation:
- Lead development and evaluation of spacecraft and mission-system architectures to satisfy mission, performance, reliability, safety, security, and interface requirements; resolve system-level trades and technical risks.
- Direct stakeholder needs analysis, requirements capture and allocation, traceability, operational concept (OPSCON/CONOPS) development, modeling and simulation, verification planning, requirements closeout, and deployment validation.
- Lead cross-organizational interface coordination across spacecraft bus, payloads, flight software, communications, ground systems, launch providers, and mission operations.
- Direct preparation, approval coordination, and configuration control of technical baselines, system specifications, interface control documents (ICDs), verification criteria, and program engineering artifacts.
- Lead architecture and technology trade studies, recommend technically sound system-level decisions, and resolve multidisciplinary design issues.
Troubleshooting & Operational Support
- Direct multidisciplinary investigation and resolution of complex spacecraft, payload, software, communications, and ground-system anomalies and interface issues.
- Manage mission operations and demonstrations for spacecraft, as applicable, including mission readiness, command-and-control coordination, anomaly response, performance monitoring, and operational reporting.
- Oversee root-cause analyses, corrective-action closure, lessons learned, and sustained system reliability improvements.
Project Management & Collaboration
- Lead system-wide technical and programmatic trade studies balancing performance, cost, schedule, resources, risks, and mission outcomes.
- Lead system integration planning, cross-site coordination, interface and configuration control, program milestones, and readiness planning; coordinate use of government launch, operational, and mission facilities as required.
- Direct technical coordination among government customers, program leadership, engineering organizations, contractors, launch providers, and mission operations teams.
- Lead technical planning, schedules, resource coordination, milestone management, risk assessments, technical briefings, and decision support for program leadership.
Documentation & Compliance
- Direct development, review, and configuration control of aerospace specifications, ICDs, requirements documents, verification procedures, engineering analyses, mission products, and program-level documentation.
- Oversee engineering data collection, processing, analysis, interpretation, and documentation; ensure the integrity and traceability of technical baselines and verification evidence.
- Ensure work complies with applicable program, customer, security, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.
- Evaluate emerging mission technologies and systems engineering practices; mentor less experienced engineers and advise program leadership on complex technical issues.
Qualifications:
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, mathematics, or a closely related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience where permitted by program and contract requirements.
- Experience: Minimum 15 years of professional experience supporting aerospace systems, including spacecraft, launch, mission, ground, or related complex aerospace capabilities; including at least 5 years providing system-wide management of spacecraft programs across design, development, integration, test, launch, operations, demonstration, or sustainment.
- Clearance Requirement: Must have an active Top Secret Clearance
- Required Skills:
- Demonstrated leadership of management or systems engineering activities for space-flight hardware development, integration, operation, or maintenance.
- Demonstrated experience directing technical baselines, interfaces, requirements, reviews, mission readiness, and system-level engineering documentation.
- Advanced knowledge of space systems engineering principles and spacecraft lifecycle engineering, including architecture, requirements, integration, verification, and validation.
- Ability to direct multidisciplinary engineering teams and provide system-wide technical judgment under complex mission constraints.
- Experience assessing program risks, engineering tradeoffs, configuration management, technical issues, and corrective actions.
- Excellent executive-level technical communication, problem-solving, coordination, and stakeholder management skills.
-
Ability to lead technical work across program management, government customers, suppliers, launch providers, and operations organizations.
- Preferred Skills:
- Deep experience across spacecraft mission lifecycles, flight and ground segments, launch interfaces, payload integration, communications, or mission operations.
- Experience leading major program reviews, mission-readiness assessments, spacecraft demonstrations, and complex multi-organization integration efforts.
- Advanced experience with model-based systems engineering, simulation, mission data analysis, test automation, or other relevant systems engineering tools.
- Relevant advanced systems engineering or program-management certifications (for example, INCOSE CSEP/ESEP or PMP), or demonstrated equivalent technical leadership.
Work Environment/Physical Requirements:
- Work is generally performed in an office or technical environment and may include on-site work at laboratories, integration and test facilities, mission operations centers, or customer/government locations.
- May require after-hours or weekend support for critical program activities, integration and test events, or mission operations.
- Some travel may be required to support customer meetings, testing, technical reviews, or program milestones.
- Ability to work at a desk and operate a computer for extended periods. Additional site-specific physical or safety requirements may apply to assigned laboratory or hardware activities.
Work Schedule:
This is a full-time position, typically working 40 hours per week. Overtime may be required depending on operational needs.
Infinity Benefits
- Company Culture. Infinity firmly believes that our success is due to the happiness and personal satisfaction of our employees.
- Health Benefits. Infinity covers 100% of the monthly medical and dental premiums for you and your family.
- Rest and Relaxation. Enjoy three weeks of vacation, with the flexibility to use vacation hours in advance before fully accrued.
- Health and Wellness. In addition to vacation, we provide sick leave, plus Flex-Spending Account (FSA) options for medical and dependent care.
- Prepare for the Future. Our 401(k) plan includes company contributions, without requiring matching, along with access to free professional financial planning services.
- Education and Professional Development. We invest in our team’s growth with our Education Reimbursement Program, supporting your career advancement.
- Profit Sharing Plan. Our employees are key to our success, which is why all eligible team members receive an annual payout through our Profit-Sharing Plan.
- And more!
U.S. Citizenship is required
EOE including disability/vet
To learn more about our company and benefits, please visit: Infinity Careers
Anticipated Close Date: Applications are anticipated to remain open for a minimum of 4 calendar days from the date this position is posted. The application period may be extended based on recruitment needs. Applicants are encouraged to apply promptly.
Space Systems Engineer Jobs by Experience Level
See All 276+ Space Systems Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Space Systems Engineer JobsSpace Systems Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring
- Northrop Grumman39
- Boeing24
- The Aerospace Corporation18
- SAIC13
- L3Harris13
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Retail
- Consulting & Professional Services
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in space systems engineer jobs.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in aerospace, electrical, or systems engineering
- Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering and tools such as MATLAB or SysML
- Familiarity with satellite or spacecraft subsystems including power, thermal, and GNC
- Active or eligible security clearance, often at the Secret or Top Secret level
- Knowledge of systems integration, verification, and validation processes
- Experience with requirements management tools such as DOORS or Jama Connect
Tips for Your Space Systems Engineer Job Search
Tailor your resume to mission phases
Hiring managers in this field scan for where you contributed in a mission lifecycle: concept, development, integration, testing, or operations. Call out your phase explicitly for each role rather than listing tools alone.
Get your security clearance documented early
Many space systems engineer postings require an active or adjudicated clearance. If you hold one, state the level and date of adjudication in your resume header so recruiters don't have to dig for it.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists space systems engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Highlight cross-discipline systems work
Space systems roles reward engineers who've owned interfaces between subsystems, such as power and thermal or GNC and software. Name the specific subsystems you coordinated and the trade studies you led to show breadth.
Prepare a technical depth question for each interview stage
Panels for these roles often include a systems architect, a subsystem lead, and a program manager. Prepare one pointed question for each so you demonstrate you understand the role's cross-functional scope.
Negotiate against the full compensation structure
Defense and aerospace employers often include clearance bonuses, relocation packages, and project milestone incentives that don't appear in the base offer. Ask for a written breakdown of all components before accepting.
Space Systems Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most space systems engineers?
The companies hiring the most space systems engineers right now include Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and The Aerospace Corporation, with the largest share of openings in California, Virginia, and Colorado, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Both legacy defense primes and newer commercial launch companies are actively posting roles.
How many space systems engineer jobs are remote?
About 29% of space systems engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, which is lower than many engineering disciplines because hardware integration and classified work require on-site presence. Systems architects and mission analysts working in modeling and simulation tend to have the most scheduling flexibility.
How do you become a space systems engineer?
Start with a degree in aerospace, electrical, mechanical, or systems engineering. Build hands-on experience through internships, university satellite programs, or small-sat competitions that expose you to full mission lifecycles. Develop proficiency in systems modeling tools and requirements management, then pursue roles in subsystem engineering before moving into systems-level positions.
Can you get a space systems engineer job with little experience?
Yes, but you need to demonstrate hands-on project work rather than coursework alone. Participation in CubeSat programs, capstone projects with real hardware, or internships at aerospace companies all carry weight with hiring managers. Entry-level postings at smaller commercial space companies typically have more flexible experience requirements than those at large defense contractors.
What does the space systems engineer interview process look like?
Most processes include an initial technical screen covering systems engineering fundamentals and tools, followed by a panel interview with engineers from multiple disciplines who probe your subsystem knowledge and integration experience. Expect at least one scenario-based question about handling a requirements conflict or a failed test. Clearance verification typically runs in parallel after an offer is extended.
Where can I find and apply to space systems engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to space systems engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search the roles available, find the ones that match your background and interests, and apply directly to each listing from the page.
See All 276+ Space Systems Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Space Systems Engineer Jobs