Systems Engineer (Payload Design)

Systems Engineer (Payload)

Location: Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (Webster area)

Remote/Telework: No - Onsite work is required

Citizenship Requirement: Must be a U.S. citizen

Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Summary

Aegis Aerospace is seeking a Systems Engineer to support payload integration for the Department of War Human-Rated Spaceflight Task Order 2 (DHSTO 2) contract. This position is based onsite at Johnson Space Center in Houston and supports projects for the DoW Space Test Program Houston office.

You will work with Payload Managers, engineering teams, NASA counterparts, government customers, payload developers, test facilities, and launch or host vehicle organizations to advance payloads through the mission lifecycle. Work includes requirements definition, interface management, design reviews, hardware and software integration, environmental testing, verification, flight certification, launch preparation, and operations readiness.

This role supports multiple projects and requires a system-level perspective, practical coordination across technical disciplines, and clear communication of technical status, risks, and results.

Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate systems engineering and payload integration activities with Payload Managers and discipline leads throughout the project lifecycle.
• Develop, assess, baseline, maintain, and verify payload, experiment, host vehicle, launch vehicle, and internal interface requirements.
• Develop and maintain requirements verification plans, verification matrices, closure strategies, and verification status metrics.
• Lead or support the development and configuration control of interface control documents, applicability matrices, and technical agreements.
• Coordinate technical interfaces across mechanical, structural, electrical power, command and data handling, thermal, software, safety, mission assurance, operations, and ground systems teams.
• Provide technical guidance to payload developers and Principal Investigator teams to help ensure designs and products meet mission, host vehicle, launch vehicle, safety, and integration requirements.
• Plan and support technical interchange meetings and reviews, including requirements reviews, Preliminary Design Reviews, Critical Design Reviews, Test Readiness Reviews, and Mission Readiness Reviews.
• Prepare and coordinate review materials, briefings, integration plans, test plans, procedures, reports, action items, and decision records.
• Assess system design maturity, interface compatibility, verification readiness, and technical risk. Identify issues early and coordinate resolution or mitigation plans.
• Support hardware and software development, integration, functional testing, environmental testing, end-to-end testing, and troubleshooting of integrated payload systems.
• Coordinate test objectives, configurations, facilities, instrumentation, procedures, readiness reviews, data products, and post-test verification results.
• Collect, review, integrate, and submit verification evidence, including analyses, inspections, tests, certificates of compliance, and verification reports.
• Support configuration management and maintain technical records for requirements, interfaces, reviews, decisions, actions, discrepancies, and verification closure.
• Support flight certification, turnover, launch-site processing, operations readiness, and on-orbit checkout as mission needs require.
• Participate in project meetings to provide technical status, coordinate priorities, and communicate schedule, risk, and resource impacts.
• Contribute to improvements in systems engineering, requirements management, integration, test, and verification processes.

Required Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must be eligible to undergo the required Tier 5 background investigation, formerly known as an SSBI.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in space systems, payload integration, or complex hardware and software development.
• Working knowledge of requirements development and maintenance, verification planning and matrices, and interface control documentation.
• Ability to prepare system-level review materials and present technical status, risks, and recommendations to customers or review boards.
• Familiarity with multidisciplinary technical reviews such as SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and MRR.
• Background coordinating hardware and software integration and test activities for complex technical systems.
• Ability to evaluate technical data, identify cross-discipline impacts, resolve integration issues, and communicate recommendations clearly.
• Self-starter able to take initiative, manage multiple priorities, and work effectively with project managers, technical leads, customers, payload developers, and colleagues.
• Ability to travel in support of payload integration, testing, launch-site, and mission activities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in a related field.
• Familiarity with government contracts, DoD, DoW, or NASA programs; human-rated spaceflight payloads; ISS payloads; hosted payloads; or free-flying satellite missions.
• Knowledge of NASA, DoD, launch vehicle, host vehicle, safety, mission assurance, or spaceflight verification standards and processes.
• Familiarity with requirements management and verification tools, configuration management, discrepancy reporting, action tracking, and acceptance data packages.
• Exposure to payload integration, environmental test campaigns, end-to-end testing, launch-site processing, or on-orbit operations preparation.
• Knowledge of satellite or payload RF systems or telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C).
• Ability to support project planning, schedules, milestones, estimates, staffing plans, and status reporting.
• Background tracking technical performance, risks, issues, actions, dependencies, scope, priorities, resources, and deliverables across multiple teams.
• Ability to lead small technical teams, work packages, or integrated activities through planning, execution, and closure.

Benefits

Aegis Aerospace offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Employer-paid and voluntary life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Employee assistance program
• Education or professional-development assistance
• Additional voluntary benefits
• Benefits eligibility and specific plan provisions are governed by the applicable plan documents and company policies.

About Aegis Aerospace

We are a woman-owned space and technology company headquartered in Houston, TX. Our primary objective is to support the Department of Defense and NASA in achieving their missions to defend the security of our country, reach new heights and to discover the unknown. We employ some of the brightest, most experienced engineering and technology experts in the U.S.

To learn more about Aegis Aerospace, visit our website at www.AegisAero.com

Equal Opportunity Employer / Protected Veteran / Disability