Engineer (Recovery Systems Engineer)

Company: Orbital Sciences Corporation Location: Wallops Island, VA 23337 Job Category: Engineering Reference Code: GB08-033 Engineer (Recovery Systems Engineer) Since our founding in 1982, Orbital has pioneered new classes of rockets, satellites and other space systems that have made us one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of space and missile systems. Our commercial, civil government and military customers depend on our low-orbit, geostationary and planetary spacecraft to help them meet their communications, remote sensing and scientific missions. We also launch exciting new careers every day. Join us in bringing the benefits of space down to Earth! The Recovery Systems Engineer will be an integral part of the NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract's (NSROC's) Vehicle Systems Engineering group, which is responsible for the rocket motors, recovery systems and related ordnance and electrical systems used on sounding rocket missions. The Recovery Systems Engineer will be responsible for ensuring that all parachute recovery systems are properly assigned and utilized given each mission's flight parameters. Furthermore, this person will be responsible for knowing/learning parachute recovery system industry standards and new trends for the purpose of developing new recovery systems and proposing improvements to current systems. Research, obtain and keep design data for all components and assemblies of recovery systems. Coordinate procurement of recovery system hardware. This shall include hardware manufactured in-house. Write necessary procedures and requirements documents that will guide vendors in building our systems properly. Provide oversight of vendor performance. Coordinate inspection of recovery system hardware, including x-rays of packed chutes.Assign recovery systems for every recoverable mission. Create process flow document for each recovery system variant. Using defined/published industry standard analysis tools, perform analysis of critical components during parachute staging for every recoverable mission. Provide factors of safety to DR and MRR panels for review. Review flight data from every recoverable mission to verify proper staging of parachutes. Provide report for mission closeout. Inspect all parachutes after every flight and provide report for mission closeout. Prepare documentation for and present at mission milestone/deliverable meetings. Identify, track, mitigate risks associated with recovery systems. Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering or closely related field desired. Five years of working experience in a field related to parachute systems.