Mission Design Engineer
Location: Playa Vista, California (in-person, five days per week)
The return lane isn’t going to build itself. Come build it with us.
Outpost is an orbital logistics company rewriting the rules of global logistics by building reusable Earth-return vehicles that unlock in-space manufacturing, on-orbit warehousing, and 60-minute global delivery through space.
Our CarryAll vehicle family returns payloads ranging from 200 kilograms to 10 metric tons, lands within 10 meters of its target, and can then be refurbished and launched again. One vehicle, many missions: responsive logistics and precision delivery for national security; commercial cargo moved with real cadence; R&D payloads flown, tested, and refined across repeatable cycles; and critical aid delivered where roads and runways can’t reach.
The demand is already here, validated through defense and civil agreements and supported by a growing pipeline of government and commercial customers. We have the customers, the team, and a clear technical path ahead of us. We’re building the return lane. Come build it with us.
The Team
The Mission Engineering team defines how each Outpost mission flies, from launch integration and on-orbit operations through deorbit, reentry, descent, and recovery. This role establishes the mission design and flight safety discipline within the team. The Senior Mission Design Engineer works directly with GNC, aerothermal, structures, avionics, and operations engineers, and represents Outpost to the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST).
Responsibilities
- Own the flight safety analysis for Outpost reentry missions in accordance with 14 CFR Part 450, including trajectory analysis (§450.117), malfunction turn and failure-mode trajectory analysis (§450.119), debris analysis (§450.121), flight hazard area analysis (§450.133), and debris risk analysis (§450.135).
- Demonstrate compliance with Part 450 public safety criteria for collective and individual expected casualty, aircraft hazard, and conditional expected casualty, and define the vehicle reliability and failure probability inputs those analyses require.
- Develop and maintain 3-DOF and 6-DOF reentry trajectory simulations covering deorbit, atmospheric entry, descent, and terminal recovery.
- Design and execute Monte Carlo dispersion analyses across vehicle, atmospheric, navigation, and operational uncertainties, and quantify landing footprints and impact probability distributions.
- Model nominal and off-nominal vehicle breakup, fragment generation, demise, and survivable debris propagation to ground and sea impact.
- Define deorbit targeting, entry corridors, recovery zones, and flight hazard areas, and support coordination of NOTAMs, NOTMARs, and range airspace requests.
- Author the flight safety analysis sections of FAA license applications, Means of Compliance, and pre-application consultation material, and lead technical discussions with the FAA-AST.
- Establish flight safety limits, mission rules, and go/no-go criteria, and serve as the flight safety lead during mission rehearsals and live operations.
- Collaborate with GNC, aerothermal, structures, and reliability engineers to integrate vehicle models, failure modes, and hazard analyses (FHA, FMEA) into the flight safety case.
- Perform mission-specific trajectory and feasibility analyses in support of customer proposals, launch provider integration, and new business pursuits.
- Build and automate the analysis toolchain, and establish verification, validation, and configuration control processes for flight safety software and data products.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, or a related field.
- 5+ years of experience in trajectory analysis, GNC, mission design, or flight safety for launch vehicles, reentry vehicles, or spacecraft; or a Master's degree with 4+ years; or a PhD with 3+ years.
- Demonstrated experience developing and running atmospheric flight trajectory simulations with POST2, TRAJ, or an equivalent 3-DOF/6-DOF simulation framework.
- Demonstrated experience designing and executing Monte Carlo dispersion analyses and interpreting results statistically.
- Strong command of flight mechanics, orbital mechanics, atmospheric entry dynamics, and probability and statistics.
- Working knowledge of FAA 14 CFR Part 450 or Part 417 flight safety requirements.
- Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or C/C++ for simulation development and data analysis.
- Clear written and verbal communication, including presentation of technical results to regulators, customers, and executive leadership.
- Ability to work on-site in Playa Vista, California, five days per week.
Preferred Experience
- Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering with a focus in GNC, astrodynamics, or hypersonics.
- Direct contribution to an FAA launch or reentry license under Part 450, including flight safety analysis submittals and FAA review cycles.
- Experience with reentry breakup and demise analysis tools such as ORSAT, DAS, DRAMA, SCARAB, or equivalent in-house tools.
- Experience with casualty and risk modeling, including population density modeling, aircraft and ship hazard analysis, and sheltering models.
- GNC background, including guidance law development, navigation filter design, or closed-loop 6-DOF simulation of entry or precision-landing vehicles.
- Experience with parafoil, parachute, or decelerator descent modeling and recovery footprint analysis.
- Experience building analysis pipelines with high-performance or cloud computing for large Monte Carlo campaigns.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive compensation: $150,000 – $180,000; (commensurate with experience).
- Additional Compensation: Annual performance-based bonuses that reward your impact.
- Shared upside: Meaningful equity in Outpost so you share directly in the value you help create.
- Comprehensive healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision coverage to keep you and your loved ones covered. We cover the base tier of medical insurance and all premiums of vision and dental.
- Protection when it matters: Company-provided short- and long-term disability coverage for peace of mind, plus life insurance for even more security.
- PTO: Recharge on your own terms with paid time off, plus 9 days of paid holidays.
- Invest in your future: 401(k) with company match to help you build long-term wealth.
- Fueled for the mission: Daily DoorDash lunch stipend, plus unlimited snacks, coffee, and tea to keep you energized.
- Mission that matters: Work shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders from aerospace, new space, and deep-tech industries building the future of orbital infrastructure.
- Pet Friendly Office: Bring your furry friend into the office so that they can be a part of our mission too.
- Monthly Company Happy Hours and Events: Drinks at the local bar, hibachi nights, mini golfing and more!
You must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 , or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State
