Negotiable | Houston, TX, USA | Full Time

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.