Test, Verification & Operations Engineer

Test, Verification & Operations Engineer

Houston, TX

About Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines is an innovative and cutting-edge space company making cislunar space accessible to both public and private customers. Our mission is to further science and exploration, communications, and economic progress from the Earth to the Moon and beyond. With the first commercial lunar landing in history, multiple NASA lunar missions in development, and additional private missions on our manifest, we pride ourselves in supporting our customers and the nation in paving the way to return humans to the surface of the Moon. Our world-class team includes experts in all aspects of spacecraft subsystems design, development, and test, on-orbit operations, and safety.

About the Role

Intuitive Machines is seeking a Test, Verification & Operations Engineer to join our Flight Dynamics team. This position will support real-time flight software testing, performance assessments, verification and test operations support for each Design Reference Mission (DRM) update cycle of the AGNCP Flight Software.  The AGNCP Flight Software consists of the following components: Automated Flight Manager(AFM), Guidance, Navigation, Control, and Propulsion.  The applicant will be located on-site in Houston, TX. The candidate will work in a cross-functional team on the test and operations support for the Nova-C lunar lander onboard integrated AGNCP system.

Responsibilities

• Perform flight software testing and verification, in both non-realtime  and realtime simulation environments.
• Perform and support flight software testing and verification in FlatSat and vehicle test environments
• Write software test plans and document results in test reports on confluence.
• Support updates to the Phase, Segment, Activity, Event (PSAE) timeline spreadsheet, to integrate and consolidate mission trajectory timeline and AFM sequencing information.
• Maintain simulation cases across the full mission profile with respect to latest DRM and PSAE update cycles (there are numerous update cycles in the progression to actual flight/mission), and verify integrated performance at a top-level assessment.
• Document DRM assessments for team consumption (in our confluence environment).
• Support live-Hot-Fire testing events as needed (in Mobile Test Stand (MTS) and Vehicle Test Stand (VTS), to learn integrated operations as it applies to AFM and Propulsion subsystems (is a beneficial gateway to supporting flight operations and understanding AFM’s role in coordinating the Propulsion system).
• Support Operational Procedures development, for use in real-time flight operations
• Perform analysis and testing in an integrated GN&C environment
• Participate in peer review of colleague’s contributions
• Create and execute unit tests on critical system components
• Collaborate with flight software and simulation developers
• Collaborate and coordinate with other sub-teams as needed, for maintaining integrated AGNCP configuration and performance and operations proficiency (e.g., Mission Analysis Cycle Working Group, Hardware/Software Integration, Mission Techniques).
• Support operations training events for the Flight Manager console (which has an emphasis on the AFM Flight Software and integrated GNCP moding and configuration), to help augment the current team and be in the “pipeline” for future flights.

A candidate for this position will be encouraged to take on as much responsibility as practical and will be expected to play a role in the entire cradle-to-grave product development process, including requirements development, algorithm design, flight software development and testing, and real-time HWIL performance verification.  The initial focus is of this job is Flight Software Test, Verification and Test Ops Support, however, due to the integrated nature and commonality of the development environments and tools, candidate will be poised to also support and/or evolve into integrated GN&C tasks related to flight software development and mission support consoles (namely, the Flight Manager (FM) console, but could also extend to the Flight Dynamics Officer (FDO) and Trajectory (TRAJ) consoles).

Required Education/Experience/Skills

• BS or MS in Aerospace Engineering or related field with 5+ years of experience preferred
• Experience with real-time software
• Experience with integrated simulation testing environments (familiarity with  NASA’s Trick Sim is a plus, which is our core platform)
• Experience with flight and simulation software development (and practices and processes).
• Experience with SWIL and HWIL testing and integration
• Experience with C, C++, and Python programming languages
• Experience with supporting a multi-disciplinary team
• Experience with spacecraft dynamics and orbital mechanics
• Experience with JIRA tool suite and Agile software development processes
• Experience with VxWorks and/or other realtime operating systems is preferred
• Experience with Git version control preferred
• Knowledge of GN&C hardware is a plus (e.g., IMU, Star Trackers, GPS, LIDAR and OpNav)
• Experience with real-time spaceflight operations in a Mission Control Center environment is a plus

EEO Statement

Intuitive Machines is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), age, medical condition, marital or domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression and transgender status, mental disability or physical disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, citizenship, low-income status or any other status or characteristic protected by applicable law. Learn more about your rights under Federal EEO laws and supplemental language.