Chief Engineer

Company: Astrobotic Technology, Inc
Location: Pittsburgh
Posted on: September 13, 2020

Job Description:

Pittsburgh, PA, USA | Planetary Landers | Full-time

Astrobotic Technology, Inc. is a space robotics company that seeks to make space accessible to the world. The company’s suite of lunar landers delivers payloads to the Moon for companies, governments, universities, non-profits, and individuals. The company is also developing advanced space robotics capabilities such as terrain relative navigation, mobile robotics for lunar surface operations, and reliable computing systems for mission-critical applications. Founded in 2007, Astrobotic is pioneering affordable planetary access that promises to spark a new era of exploration, science, tourism, resource utilization, and mining. Astrobotic is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Astrobotic was selected by NASA in May 2019 for a $79.5 million contract to deliver a suite of NASA instruments to the Moon. This mission will see the Peregrine lunar lander return America to the Moon with 22 payloads representing 6 countries. In June 2020, Astrobotic was selected for a $199.5 million contract to deliver the NASA VIPER rover to the lunar south pole onboard the Griffin lunar lander. This mission will enable NASA’s objective to map water ice on the lunar surface, which in turn supports NASA’s plans for crewed missions in 2024. As part of Astrobotic’s Planetary Landers team, you will literally be creating history as we define the benchmark for commercial delivery of payloads to the Moon and beyond.

Astrobotic Technology wants you to bring your substantial spacecraft expertise to guide the engineering team through the spacecraft development lifecycle using sound engineering principles and standards. This position serves on the leadership team of the Planetary Landers Department and therefore has a substantial influence in strategic planning and mission success.

Responsibilities Include:

Recognized technical expert in the overall design, development and testing of spacecraft and related technologies

Support system concept development, system architecture development, system and subsystem requirements development, systems analysis and trade studies, and systems modeling and simulation

Coordinate cross functional teams and lead cross functional team meetings to ensure engineering solutions comply with mission and business needs

Assess technical risks to the program at the system and subsystem level and report these risks to management along with recommended mitigations

Support multiple mission spacecraft architectures, ensuring that designs stay within the scope and vision of the overall department

Participate in internal and vendor milestone reviews and provide feedback as to engineering solution adequacy for overall mission and business needs

Lead team discussions to identify or develop innovative vehicle architecture, technologies, and operations for use in current or future missions

Write and develop system objectives, con-ops, requirements and metrics

Refine overall team processes and engineering standards according to department and business needs

Apply understanding of system development to forecast and mitigate risks and lead development teams through complex technical issue resolution efforts

Ensure proposals and program design implementation align to guiding principles and risk posture

Required Qualifications:

B.S. in Engineering or related technical field plus 10 years of relevant space mission experience (at least 5 years in a leadership role). Relevant advanced degree will be considered in lieu of equivalent experience.

Demonstrated experience as the technical lead implementing the full life cycle of spacecraft design, development, manufacturing, testing, and operations

Demonstrated experience designing, integrating and testing spacecraft subsystems including direct experience in one or more of the following areas of spaceflight systems development: structure/thermal design and analysis, avionics, power systems, propulsion, mission services, systems engineering, mission operations, integration, or mission management

Demonstrated experience operating in an AS9100 or ISO9000 environment

Excellent oral and written communication skills, experienced working with a wide variety of engineers with different skill levels and backgrounds

Strong organizational, multi-tasking, and problem-solving skills

Ability to adapt quickly, think creatively, make critical technical decisions, and take initiative in a fast-paced environment

Desired Qualifications:

Demonstrated direct, hands-on experience with space system integration and testing, including cleanroom operations

Demonstrated experience working in an agile environment, using organizational tools such as Confluence and Jira

Experience with requirements management tools such as JAMA

Demonstrated experience developing process plans in support of development, manufacturing, or operations

Candidate should be eligible of obtaining a security clearance

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the

U.S. Department of State.

Applicants should be prepared to submit a writing sample, references, and demonstrate a significant background in space missions.

Astrobotic Technology, Inc. does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to contact@astrobotic.com.

Keywords: Astrobotic Technology, Inc, Pittsburgh , Chief Engineer, Other , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania