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Flight Software

Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer

Cowboy Space logoCowboy Space$150,000–$200,000/yrKent, Washington, United StatesFullTimePosted 1w ago
  • US citizenship
  • ITAR / US person

How this pay compares

This posting states $150k–$200k a year. Open GNC engineer jobs in Washington post a median of $163k a year, the middle half $149k–$163k, across 12 jobs that state their pay, so this one is above the middle half of what they post.

GNC engineers in Washington: pay by town and employer

About the job

## Mission Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity’s most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform.

Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth. ## Background Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy.

Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport. Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure.

Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases.

Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father’s work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system.

Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others. This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation ’s team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA.

If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you. ## About the Role:` We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer to support the development, analysis, and validation of advanced aerospace systems.

The ideal candidate combines strong analytical skills with hands-on simulation and systems engineering experience to support mission design, flight dynamics, and autonomous control system development.

This position is located onsite in Kent, WA. ## Responsibilities - Develop and analyze launch vehicle and spacecraft trajectories, including ascent, orbit insertion, and orbital maneuvers - Perform orbital propagation and station-keeping analysis for spacecraft operations - Support mission design including launch window analysis, delta-V budgets, and contingency planning - Interface with flight software and GNC teams to validate and optimize guidance profiles - Contribute to development of in-house simulation tools and flight dynamics infrastructure - Engage in multi-disciplinary vehicle systems investigations to motivate mission design, vehicle architecture, and analysis methodologies - Develop and evaluate flight termination system mission rules ## Basic Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Space Systems, or Software Engineering, or an equivalent Engineering or Applied Physics degree. - 5-10+ years of experience with orbital mechanics, classical dynamics, modeling, and simulation - Mission analysis with STK, Astrogator, GMAT, Monte, Copernicus, or equivalent. - Python software development ## Preferred Qualifications - Experience with launch vehicles, spacecraft, missiles, hypersonics, UAVs, or defense systems - Orbit determination analysis with ODTK, Orekit, or equivalent - Team and/or software project management experience ## Compensation and Benefits The salary range for this position is$150,000 – $200,000annually.The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity. - Equity in Cowboy Space Corp. - Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance - 401(k) retirement savings plan - Paid time off - 10 paid holidays per calendar year - Paid parental leave - Relocation assistance if applicable - Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks ## ITAR Requirements - Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S.

Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants 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.

Learn more about ITAR here . ## Disclaimer This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion. Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer.

We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience.

Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.

From Cowboy Space'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 Cowboy Space

Satellites and rockets for solar-powered computing in low Earth orbit.

Pay on its listings: 98.5% of its open jobs state an hourly rate

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

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