Job Description
About Firefly Aerospace As an end-to-end responsive space company, Firefly Aerospace is on a mission to enable our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. Our small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles allow us to service the entire lifecycle of government and commercial missions from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. We utilize carbon composite structures, patented propulsion technologies, and common components across our vehicles to iterate quickly, improve reliability, and deliver payloads at a lower cost.
Summary Firefly is building a new Lunar Robotics capability—developing systems that will enable our landers and spacecraft to interact with, explore, and service the lunar surface. We are seeking a level I to II robotics engineer to join a growing team.
In this role, we are seeking a candidate with a background in software, or mechatronics engineering. You will help build the hardware and write the software to operate multi-degree of freedom systems that enable orbital and planetary interaction.
Responsibilities - Contribute to the design, development, and test of control systems for electro-mechanical systems.
- Define architectures for mobility, manipulation, and autonomy systems that enable science and commercial operations on the Moon.
- Deliver hardware and software for robotic actuators, end effectors, and sensing systems.
- Support hardware in the loop prototype and development testing for rapid iteration of complex mechanisms and control algorithms.
- Partner closely with avionics, GNC, and software teams to integrate perception, autonomy, and safety-critical control.
- Support full lifecycle development: requirements, trade studies, modeling/simulation, prototyping, flight hardware, and mission operations.
- Expand Firefly’s robotics expertise beyond lunar systems into future spacecraft and mission needs.
Qualifications Required - Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, Robotics Engineering, or related field (advanced degree preferred).
- 1-5 years of experience in robotics, mechatronics, or automation systems or graduate degree in these fields.
- Experience working with a multi-disciplinary team and rapid development schedules.
- Strong technical depth in electronics, closed-loop control theory, and real-time systems.
- Experience with hardware integration: actuators, sensors, manipulators, and control electronics.
- Proficiency in simulation tools (MATLAB/Simulink, ROS, Gazebo, or equivalent).
- Hands-on prototyping, test, and troubleshooting experience.
Desired - Direct experience with in-space robotics missions (e.g., robotic arms, planetary manipulators, sample acquisition systems, or servicing payloads).
- Demonstrated success delivering flight-qualified robotic hardware or autonomy for spacecraft or exploration missions.
- Experience designing and running hardware verification and functional tests.
- Ability to stand up operator in the loop and semi-autonomous control systems and operator consoles.
- Deep understanding of the unique constraints of in-space systems, including autonomy, reliability, and human/robot interaction.
Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, 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.
Job Tags
Permanent employment, Temporary work, Flexible hours,