Propulsion Development Engineer III (Advanced Programs)

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ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

As an end-to-end space transportation company, Firefly Aerospace is on a mission to enable our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

About the Role

On the propulsion engineering team, we are responsible for designing, developing, testing, and flying the propulsion systems across all of Firefly’s launch vehicles and spacecraft. In the Advanced Programs group, you will be responsible for all aspects of the development of low technology readiness level (TRL) engines, advancing them rapidly into a hardware-rich development program, and ultimately qualifying them for flight. In this role, you will work across the full lifecycle of hardware, including requirements definition, design, analysis, development, test, and qualification of the engine system. The engine teams require deep technical knowledge, extreme ownership, and clear communication with our cross-functional teams. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated interest in hardware ownership, will be extremely adaptable to new challenges, and will have a strong desire to make impactful contributions to Firefly’s future vehicles.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate extreme ownership over propulsion system hardware from a blank page to a test campaign
• Lead design, analysis, and development of propulsion systems for advanced programs, from concept through prototype and development hotfire testing
• Define system and component-level requirements, ensuring alignment with mission objectives and performance goals
• Own and execute development, qualification, and acceptance testing as well as data reduction and reviews for engine systems and subsystems
• Collaborate cross-functionally with structures, fluids, avionics, and manufacturing teams to ensure vehicle-level functionality
• Generate and maintain engineering documentation, including models, drawings, and analysis reports
• Personally lead the build process for development engines to iterate and improve design and layout
• Drive rapid iteration cycles to mature designs, incorporating lessons learned into future development

Present design reviews, risk trades, technical findings, and recommendations to internal stakeholders, leadership, and external partners