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Launch & Ops

Principal Engineer - Mission Operations Sustainment Systems Engineer

BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems logoBAE Systems Space & Mission Systems$118,095–$200,762/yrBroomfield, Colorado, United StatesFull-timePosted 3w ago
  • TS/SCI clearance
  • Top Secret clearance

How this pay compares

This posting states $118k–$201k a year. Open mission operations engineer jobs in Colorado post a median of $130k a year, the middle half $118k–$153k, across 27 jobs that state their pay, so this one is above the middle half of what they post.

Mission and launch operations engineers in Colorado: pay by town and employer

About the job

</br><b>Job Description </b></br><p>Join the Mission Readiness & Commissioning team at BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems (SMS) – a diverse group of motivated problem solvers. We like to have fun and enjoy life - both at work, and in our free time. We're excited about the challenging projects we're involved in and have a commitment to the missions we enable.

Offering growth opportunities at all levels of skill and experience, we're looking for leaders and innovators who can continue our reputation for creativity and technical excellence, while helping to define the future of BAE Systems SMS.<br><br>We’re seeking a self-motivated systems engineer to join our Mission Sustainment team.

Our sustainment engineers support test, factory reach-back, and operations/maintenance of spacecraft and their payloads for commercial, DoW, and NASA customers. Sustainment engineers also engage earlier in the lifecycle (requirements, design, analysis, and test) to support effective preparation for, and transition to, operations.

Our team and products may support a variety of activities including:</p><ul><li><p>Spacecraft launch, initialization, checkout, and calibration</p></li><li><p>Command and control of the spacecraft</p></li><li><p>Monitoring the health and safety of the spacecraft subsystems, payloads, and ground system</p></li><li><p>Mission data collection, distribution, and analysis</p></li></ul><p>Don’t meet all the desired expertise?

Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway.

You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.<br> <br>The Engineering, Science and Analysis (ESA) Strategic Capabilities Unit comprises the technical talent and organizational leadership that enables the successful delivery of high-impact discriminating technologies for our customers’ missions.

Our collaborative, cross-functional teams are committed to innovation, integrity, continual learning and strong execution. </p><br><strong>What You’ll Do:</strong><br> <ul><li>Perform telemetry trending, mission performance analysis, calibration, and maintenance of the satellite and ground system.</li><li>Participate in on-orbit operations, assess satellite and ground system state of health, and assist with anomaly support.</li><li>Develop and/or update mission operations products and tools based on discrepancy reports, change requests, and/or lessons learned.

This may include command execution scripts, alarm limits, mission system constraints, operator procedures, and/or operator training material. </li><li>Collaborate with subject matter experts to develop and maintain operational command products, training material, and tools for operations.</li><li>Support integration and testing of new capabilities and/or product releases for the satellite and/or ground system.</li><li><meta c="" charset="us-ascii" "="" http-equiv="Content-Type"><br><style type="text/css">a {<br/> text-decoration: none;<br/> color: #464feb;<br/>}<br/>tr th, tr td {<br/> border: 1px solid #e6e6e6;<br/>}<br/>tr th {<br/> background-color: #f5f5f5;<br/>}<br/></style><br>Formally and informally provide leadership to groups and teams and guidance to less experienced employees; may be assigned to a technical or project leadership role.</li><li>Prepare and present technical content to peers/management/customers.</li><li>Maintain a regular and predictable work schedule.</li><li>Establish and maintain effective working relationships within the department, the Strategic Business Units, Strategic Capabilities Units and the Company.

Interact appropriately with others in order to maintain a positive and productive work environment.</li><li>Perform other duties as necessary.</li></ul> <p><strong>On-Site Work Environment:</strong> This position requires regular in-person engagement by working <strong>on-site five days</strong> each normally scheduled week in the primary work location.

Travel and local commute between company campuses and other possible non-company locations may be required.</p><br><strong>Working Conditions:</strong><br> <ul><li>Work is performed in an office, laboratory, production floor, or cleanroom, outdoors or remote research environment.</li><li>May occasionally work in production work centers where use of protective equipment and gear is required.</li><li>May access other facilities in various weather conditions.</li></ul></br></br><b>Required Education, Experience, & Skills </b></br><ul><li>BS degree or higher in Engineering or a related technical field is required plus 6 or more years related experience.</li><li>Each higher-level related degree, i.e., Master’s Degree or Ph.D., may substitute for two years of related experience.

Related technical experience may be considered in lieu of education.

Degree must be from a university, college, or school which is accredited by an agency recognized by the US Secretary of Education, US Department of Education.</li><li>A current, active Top Secret security clearance is required with ability to obtain and maintain Top Secret/SCI.</li><li>Experience in one or more of the following areas:<ul><li>On-console satellite operations.</li><li>Spacecraft commissioning.</li><li>Spacecraft, payload, or subsystem design.</li><li>Mission management, command and control</li><li>Mission data processing.</li><li>Ground systems.</li><li>Ground terminals and infrastructure.</li><li>Mission integration including operations readiness activities, rehearsals, and launch support activities.</li><li>Training of satellite operators.</li></ul></li><li>Familiarity with operations processes such as discrepancy reporting, change management and anomaly response.</li><li>Effective communication skills.</li><li>Ability to interface with technicians, peers, senior-level engineers, business development, management.</li><li>Ability to contribute to the success of small teams through excellent teamwork.</li></ul><span style="color:#ffffff;">#LI-KV1</span></br></br><b>Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills </b></br><ul style="margin-bottom:11px"><li>Experience developing or maintaining mission operations products such as command execution scripts, alarm limits, mission system constraints, operator procedures, and operator training material.</li><li>Experience in related disciplines such as software engineering, hardware engineering, integration, test engineering, quality engineering, configuration/data management.</li><li>Experience using simulators, test benches, or FlatSats</li><li>Knowledge of cloud development environments.</li><li>Knowledge of requirements management tool such as DOORS.</li><li>Knowledge of Atlassian Tools such as Confluence and Jira.</li></ul><br><br><b>Pay Information</b><br>Full-Time Salary Range: $118095 - $200762<br><br>Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures.

However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience. <br><br>Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being.

Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance.

Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate i

From BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems's job posting, checked 7 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.

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About BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems

Spacecraft, instruments and mission systems from the former Ball Aerospace, now inside BAE Systems.

Pay on its listings: 100% of its open jobs state an hourly rate

How it pays: Paid as an employee on BAE Systems's own payroll (salaried or hourly, as each posting states).

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