Flight Analysis Engineer I

Rocket Lab is seeking a Flight Analysis Engineer I to join our team in Auckland, New Zealand. This role involves mission analysis, flight safety analysis, new vehicle analysis, and supporting recovery operations. The Flight Analysis Engineer will collaborate with various departments within Rocket Lab and external agencies to develop methods, software tools, data packages, and technical reports for flight safety, launch availability, and on-orbit operations, supporting Electron mission operations and Neutron development.

Key responsibilities include developing flight analysis methods, tools, and simulations for launch vehicle trajectory, debris modeling, re-entry analysis, and mission risk. The engineer will build and maintain in-house tools using programming languages like Python and C++, process and analyze large data sets leveraging statistical models and parallel computing, support launch operations including safety integration, test activities, and on-console operations, and prepare detailed documentation such as flight safety data packages, licensing documents, and standard operating procedures.

The ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science, or an equivalent qualification, strong programming skills with experience in Python and C++, and at least 2 years of experience in engineering analysis, numerical modeling, simulation, or statistics. A solid understanding of launch vehicle flight dynamics, orbital mechanics, and GNC is essential, along with familiarity with configuration management, version control, and technical writing (LaTeX experience is a plus).