Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. JivaJet is developing advanced plasma propulsion technologies for persistent spacecraft operations in Very Low Earth Orbit and other demanding mission environments. The Chief Mission Engineer will provide executive technical leadership across propulsion, spacecraft systems, mission architecture, flight demonstrations, engineering execution, and defense and national-security programs.
Responsibilities
- Mission & Technology Architecture: Translate JivaJet's propulsion technologies into complete spacecraft and mission architectures while helping shape the company's broader technical roadmap across propulsion, spacecraft, payload integration, autonomy and flight systems
- National Security Missions: Serve as a senior technical representative to the U.S. defense and national-security community, developing mission concepts and architectures for VLEO-enabled sensing, ISR, missile warning/tracking, communications, distributed systems and other emerging missions
- Chief Engineering Leadership: Provide system-level technical leadership across propulsion, power, avionics, spacecraft, GNC, communications, software, mechanical systems and payload integration, ensuring individual technologies converge into flight-ready systems
- Advanced R&D & Technology Strategy: Work with JivaJet's scientific and engineering leadership to guide technology maturation, evaluate new technical directions, establish development priorities and translate fundamental R&D into scalable products and mission capabilities
- Principal Investigator / Technical Program Leadership: Serve as PI, Chief Engineer or Technical Program Lead for selected government and strategic programs, owning technical approaches, proposals, milestones, reviews, risk management, deliverables and customer technical engagement
- VLEO & Space Systems Engineering: Lead analysis across orbital mechanics, atmospheric drag, propulsion, power, thermal constraints, maneuverability, persistence, spacecraft geometry, constellation architecture and mission performance
- Flight Demonstrations: Lead the technical architecture of orbital demonstrations, from requirements and spacecraft interfaces through qualification, mission planning, launch readiness, operations and post-flight analysis
- Engineering Execution: Drive disciplined engineering across requirements, interfaces, modeling, prototyping, testing, verification, qualification and flight readiness while helping build and mentor JivaJet's multidisciplinary engineering organization
- Government & Industry Technical Engagement: Represent JivaJet in sophisticated classified and unclassified technical discussions with DoD organizations, government laboratories, research institutions, defense primes, spacecraft manufacturers and strategic partners
- Technology Leadership as JivaJet Scales: Operate beyond a single program or discipline. Help establish JivaJet's engineering culture, technical standards, architecture decisions and long-term technology strategy, with the ability to assume broader enterprise technical leadership as the company grows
Skills
- Active U.S. Top Secret clearance required
- U.S. citizenship required
- MS with exceptional relevant experience considered
- Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Plasma Physics, Systems Engineering or related field
- 12+ years of relevant technical experience, ideally spanning space systems, advanced propulsion, defense, aerospace or national-security R&D
- Demonstrated leadership as a Chief Engineer, Principal Investigator, Mission Architect, Technical Director or equivalent senior technical leader
- Strong understanding of spacecraft architecture and the interaction between propulsion, power, thermal, avionics, GNC, communications, software and mission operations
- Demonstrated ability to take complex technologies from research through prototype, integration, test and flight or operational demonstration
- Experience leading multidisciplinary engineers and scientists
- Experience developing technical roadmaps and making consequential architecture and engineering trade decisions
- Strong systems-engineering and mission-analysis background
- Experience working directly with U.S. Government technical customers
- Ability to lead technical proposals, white papers, reviews and government R&D programs
- Strong technical writing and executive communication ability
- Ability to remain deeply technical while operating effectively at an executive level
- Comfortable operating in the speed, ambiguity and hands-on environment of an advanced-technology startup
- Prior technical leadership supporting DARPA, DIU, MDA, Space Force, SSC, AFRL, SDA, NRO, national laboratories or related organizations
- Electric or plasma propulsion experience
- VLEO, hypersonics, rarefied-flow, DSMC or atmospheric-drag expertise
- Spacecraft design, integration, launch and mission-operations experience
- Missile warning/tracking, ISR, sensing or national-security-space architecture experience
- EO/IR, RF, communications or payload integration experience
- STK, GMAT, MATLAB, Python, MBSE/SysML or similar modeling experience
- Autonomous spacecraft, onboard processing or distributed constellation experience
- Experience with classified programs, ITAR/EAR and controlled technical environments
- Experience transitioning advanced R&D into government programs or commercial products
- US Citizens Only
- Active Top Secret Clearance Required
- PhD strongly preferred
- TS/SCI strongly preferred
- Current TS/SCI
Company Overview