Principal Astronautical Engineer

At Turion Space, our astronautical engineering work is what makes autonomous operations in orbit possible. This team owns the flight dynamics, navigation, guidance, and mission analysis that let our spacecraft maneuver, rendezvous, and operate safely in a contested and increasingly crowded domain. As a Principal Astronautical Engineer, you'll lead the design, development, and implementation of astronautical engineering solutions across mission operations, flight dynamics, flight software, and mission/systems engineering.

This is a deeply technical leadership role at the core of how Turion flies. You'll set the standard for rigor across the astronautics stack, from the algorithms that determine and control spacecraft state to the software and test infrastructure that proves it works before it ever reaches orbit. Your work will directly shape the reliability of every mission we fly and the capabilities we can offer our customers. This position requires travel to our Irvine, California headquarters and other locations as needed.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, and implementation of astronautical engineering solutions; Build, develop, and maintain software and systems for space applications; Ensure the quality and rigor of engineering processes and deliverables; Drive for 100% test coverage against canonical sources of truth; Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to achieve mission objectives; Contribute to documentation, code reviews, and process improvements

Requirements

M.S. in Astronautical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering with an astronautics emphasis, or a related technical field; 8 to 20 years of professional experience in astronautical engineering; Demonstrated ability to develop astronautics applications supporting mission operations, flight dynamics, flight software, and mission/systems engineering; Experience designing and implementing software for space applications, including space environment modeling and simulation, spacecraft navigation and guidance algorithms, spacecraft attitude control systems, space mission planning and analysis tools; Expert-level understanding of the technical and operational aspects of astronautical engineering, including propagation, time scale and reference frame transformations, coordinate systems and conversions, maneuver planning, safety of flight analysis and operations, orbit determination and state estimation, optimal control; Ability to implement and test the numeric methods required to support the above engineering areas, including numerical integration, root finding, linear programming, non-linear programming; Ability to design, develop, and test the aforementioned engineering areas; Strong proficiency in C, C++, and Python, and implementation of astronautics functions/applications in these languages; Proficiency in build systems (CMake), version control (Git), and software development best practices; Understanding of CI/CD pipelines and software testing methodologies; Must travel to Irvine, CA or other locations as needed to support customer engagements and team collaboration; Must be a U.S. Citizen (dual citizenship not accepted); Must be able to obtain a Top Secret security clearance; Must meet ITAR requirements (U.S. citizen/national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible for required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State)

Nice to have

Working experience with industry-standard tools relevant to the role, such as MATLAB/Simulink, STK/Astrogator, GMAT, Orekit; Experience developing enterprise-grade astronautics libraries and applications; Operational experience using astronautics applications to support space missions

Benefits

Equity: receive equity in Turion Space; Health Insurance: comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents; Retirement Plans: 401(k) plan with 3% Employer Direct Contribution; Paid Time Off: generous vacation days, personal days, sick days, and holidays; Parental Leave: paid parental leave following the birth of a newborn or adoption; Emotional Wellbeing: no-cost Employee Assistance Program (EAP); Professional Development: opportunities for ongoing internal training, workshops, and courses; Team Building Activities: regular social events, team outings, and company-sponsored activities