Senior Astrodynamics Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 26, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 22, 2026.
Digantara is a leading Space Surveillance and Intelligence company focused on ensuring orbital safety and sustainability. With expertise in space-based detection, tracking, identification, and monitoring, Digantara provides comprehensive domain awareness across all regimes, enabling end-users to gain actionable intelligence on a single platform. At the core of its infrastructure lies a sophisticated integration of hardware and software capabilities aligned with the key principles of situational awareness: perception (data collection), comprehension (data processing), and prediction (analytics). This holistic approach empowers Digantara to monitor all Resident Space Objects (RSOs) in orbit, fostering comprehensive domain awareness.
The Senior Astrodynamics Engineer will lead the development and optimization of advanced astrodynamics algorithms that power Digantara's Space Situational Awareness platform. This role combines deep technical expertise with ownership of complex engineering initiatives while providing technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers and interns.
Ideal Candidate
4-6 years of experience in astrodynamics, orbital mechanics, Space Situational Awareness (SSA), or related aerospace domains.
Strong expertise in computational astrodynamics, orbit determination, orbit propagation, and mathematical modeling for operational space systems.
Demonstrated experience mentoring 1-2 junior engineers, researchers, or interns while driving technical execution across projects.
Roles & Responsibilities
Design, develop, validate, and optimize advanced mathematical algorithms for Space Situational Awareness applications.
Lead the development of orbit determination, orbit propagation, conjunction analysis, and orbital prediction capabilities using observations from ground-based and space-based sensors.
Drive architectural improvements to astrodynamics software modules, ensuring scalability, computational efficiency, and operational robustness.
Support the design, integration, testing, deployment, and operationalization of SSA systems and mission-critical technology stacks.
Conduct research on emerging techniques including machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and advanced numerical methods for SSA applications.
Mentor junior engineers and interns through technical reviews, knowledge sharing, and day-to-day project guidance.
Collaborate closely with software, data science, operations, and product teams to integrate astrodynamics capabilities into production environments.
Contribute to technical proposals, white papers, research publications, and intellectual property initiatives.
Stay abreast of advances in astrodynamics, orbital analytics, and emerging space technologies to continuously improve platform capabilities.
Qualifications
Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Astrodynamics, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
4-6 years of experience developing astrodynamics solutions, orbital mechanics software, or Space Situational Awareness systems.
Strong foundation in computational astrodynamics, perturbation theory, orbital mechanics, numerical methods, vector algebra, and scientific computing.
Experience developing production-quality analytical software using Python and modern engineering practices.
Strong analytical, mathematical, and problem-solving capabilities.
Preferred Qualities
Demonstrated proficiency in Python, scientific computing libraries, and parallel programming techniques.
Experience working with astrodynamics tools such as GMAT, STK, FreeFlyer, Orekit, or equivalent platforms.
Familiarity with Linux-based environments, Git, and collaborative software development workflows.
Understanding of probability, statistics, estimation techniques, and control theory.
Experience optimizing computational algorithms for large-scale orbital datasets.
Strong technical writing skills with experience preparing engineering documentation, technical reports, research papers, or operational guidelines.
Prior experience mentoring engineers, researchers, or interns within technical teams.
General Requirements
High ownership mindset with the ability to independently lead complex technical initiatives.
Strong communication and collaboration skills across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Ability to balance hands-on technical execution with mentorship responsibilities.
Strong documentation and presentation skills for technical and non-technical audiences.
Willingness to continuously learn, innovate, and contribute to engineering excellence.
Ability to travel occasionally as necessary.