Job Description

The JETS Space Environments team is seeking a Space Environments Engineer to provide systems engineering and multidisciplinary technical analysis/modeling support to the different NASA JSC programs.

Responsibilities:

• Provide support to the NASA JSC programs in the definition of natural and induced space environments.
• Provide systems engineering support to the NASA JSC programs ​in space environments requirements and verification activities, working in concert with NASA civil servants and designated contractors.
• Evaluate induced environmental hazards between elements or vehicles over the operational life period.
• Conduct systems engineering trade studies to identify potential risks and mitigations.
• Develop and update semi-empirical and theoretical models.
• Analyze/model molecular contamination and transport of contaminants from materials outgassing lunar dust, vacuum venting, and rocket engine thruster plumes onto elements/vehicles.
• Analyze optical property impacts from molecular contamination with exposure to the orbital environment (ultraviolet radiation, ionizing radiation, and atomic oxygen).
• Analyze/model plasma effects and spacecraft charging.
• Analyze/model radiation transport and effects on element hardware.
• Assess the compatibility of spacecraft hardware with natural and induced space environments.
• Perform other duties as required.

Requisition Qualifications:

• Requires a bachelor's degree in engineering and a minimum of 2 - 5 years of experience in the field or in a related area.
• 3 or more years of related work experience or an equivalent combination of technical education and experience (e.g., M.S. or Ph.D.).
• Experience using Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience in Computer Programing.
• Strong analytical and computational skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary field.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.

Requisition Preferences:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering (Aerospace, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Nuclear), Physics, or Chemistry
• ​​M.S. or Ph.D. in Engineering.
• 5 or more years of related work experience or an equivalent combination of technical education and experience (e.g. M.S. or Ph.D.).
• GPA 3.0 or higher.
• Knowledge of natural and induced Space Environments (Cislunar - Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO), Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Geostationary Orbit (GEO), and High Earth Orbit (HEO)).
• Knowledge of GCR, solar wind/ plasma, CMEs/SEPs, solar irradiance, micrometeoroid, and cislunar gravity models and definitions.
• Knowledge of lunar dust characteristics and effects.
• Experience with developing software to implement analytical models.
• Experience with materials outgassing, molecular transport, thin film deposition, optical property degradation, molecular gas dynamics, and/or multi-phase flows.
• Experience with hypergolic and Hall Effect thrusters' operation as well as associated plume characteristics.
• Experience with plasma charging analyses, ionizing radiation analyses, and/or related tools (NASCAP, SPIS, IRI, AE9/AP9, CREME96, SHIELDOSE, ESP/PHYCHIC, etc).
• Experience with external contamination/molecular deposition analysis codes and/or tools (e.g, Tecplot, NX, HyperWorks, ParaView, Matlab, LS Dyna, etc.)
• Experience with the Gateway Program, other NASA programs, and/or other space projects.
• Experience with the LINUX operating system.