Life at Firefly
At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands-on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.
Our Values
Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.
Our Benefits
We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.
Job Openings
From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.
Instrumentation & Controls Manager Engineering GSE
ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE
Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to 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 Firefly
Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Management
- Lead & mentor a team of up to 10 engineers as they design, implement, and troubleshoot modern instrumentation and control systems for the ground systems of tomorrow’s launch vehicles and spacecraft
- Recruit, develop, and retain top engineering talent with passion for advancing space access
- Set clear goals, provide regular feedback, align individual development with company targets, conduct performance reviews, and nurture a healthy and challenging team culture
- Inspire and nurture a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement by challenging hardware and software norms and developing more effective workspaces & tools
- Define and manage project definition, project milestones, hand-off, and resource allocation forecasts
Technical Leadership
- Oversee the design, development, testing, and deployment of GSE control and instrumentation systems including:Functional test systems and automated test equipment (ATE)Data acquisition systems and signal conditioningControl panels, junction panels, and vehicle umbilical/quick disconnect systemsSensor integration (thermocouples, RTDs, strain gauges, pressure transducers, etc) for development
- Review & approve instrumentation and control system drawing packages including, but not limited to:Control & I/O diagramsInstrument and control cable schedulesInstrument Loop DiagramsJunction box and control panel wiring diagrams
- Diagnose and resolve complex electrical problems in Integration, Test, and Launch systems
- Support Test execution/troubleshooting and validate functional testing configurations
- Review & analyze test data to ensure the highest quality test data and accuracy
- Ensure compliance with aerospace quality standards, safety requirements, and local regulations
Cross Functional Collaboration
- Coordinate and manage relationships with interdisciplinary teams to set project requirements, coordinate on complex construction projects (new Test Stands, Launch Sites, vehicle transport systems, etc), manage scope creep, and balance technical rigor with program urgency
- Manage capital budgets for Ground Support projects
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline
- Minimum 5 years of experience in integration and/or testing of process control systems, spacecraft test equipment, or launch systems.
- Minimum 2 years of direct management experience or team leadership experience
- Strong electrical fundamentals with hands-on experience using DMMs, power supplies, oscilloscopes, and small ADC/DAC circuits.
- Working knowledge of common electrical sensors (thermocouples, RTDs, strain gauges, pressure transducers, encoders, load cells etc)
- Excellent communication, planning, and organizational skills
- Demonstrated ability and desire to work with interdisciplinary teams
Preferred Qualifications
- Spacecraft / Launch Vehicle test and validation experience
- Experience with launch site operations and GSE deployment
- Experience programming PLCs/FPGAs
- Experience programming and implementing HMIs (human machine interfaces)
- Proficiency with motion controllers, signal conditioners, or data acquisition systems (National instruments, etc.)
- Ability to write and simulate automated testing scripts in LabVIEW, Python, or similar
- Familiarity with MIL-STD specifications and aerospace quality standards (AS9100, NASA)
- A balanced sense of urgency and risk management style to handle interdisciplinary conflicts as they arise.
- Experience managing vendor relationships and external contractors
Primary Level Salary Range:
Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, relocation benefits, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.
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.
Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.