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Space Exploration Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Redwire Space

Contracts Specialist, Sr. Lead

Chantilly, VA · On-site

$135K - $175K/yr

... space exploration! We offer a highly competitive benefits package along with a commitment to our core values of Integrity, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, and Excellence. Don't meet every single ...

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Redwire Space

Contracts Specialist, Sr. Lead

Chantilly, VA · On-site

$135K - $175K/yr

... space exploration! We offer a highly competitive benefits package along with a commitment to our core values of Integrity, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, and Excellence. Don't meet every single ...

New

Redwire Space

Contracts Specialist, Sr. Lead

Chantilly, VA · On-site

$135K - $175K/yr

... space exploration! We offer a highly competitive benefits package along with a commitment to our core values of Integrity, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, and Excellence. Don't meet every single ...

New

Draper

Senior Program Manager - Space Systems

Reston, VA · On-site

$150 - $200/hr

From military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering, lives often depend on the solutions we provide. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists work in a collaborative ...

Draper

Senior Program Manager - Space Systems

Reston, VA

$120K - $121K/yr

From military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering, lives often depend on the solutions we provide. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists work in a collaborative ...

Draper Labs

Senior Program Manager - Space Systems

Reston, VA · On-site

$120K - $121K/yr

From military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering, lives often depend on the solutions we provide. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists work in a collaborative ...

Mission One

Space / Counter-Space SME

Chantilly, VA · On-site

$120K - $220K/yr

Vision insurance Position Overview Mission One is seeking a Mid-Level Space / Counter-Space SME to ... Careers at Mission One To explore career opportunities with Mission One, simply send our team your ...

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Space Exploration information

What is space exploration?

Space exploration is the investigation and study of outer space through the use of astronomy, robotic spacecraft, and human spaceflights. It aims to increase our understanding of the universe, including planets, stars, and other celestial bodies beyond Earth. Space exploration has led to numerous scientific discoveries, technological advancements, and has inspired innovations that benefit life on Earth. Agencies like NASA, ESA, and private companies such as SpaceX are actively involved in this field.

What are some common challenges faced by professionals working in space exploration roles?

Professionals in space exploration often encounter challenges such as adapting to rapidly evolving technology, working within strict safety and regulatory standards, and collaborating across multidisciplinary teams that may include engineers, scientists, and mission specialists. The work environment can be highly dynamic, with tight project deadlines and the need for meticulous attention to detail. Additionally, roles may require problem-solving in high-pressure situations, especially when supporting live missions or troubleshooting unexpected issues. These challenges are balanced by the excitement of contributing to groundbreaking discoveries and innovations.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in a career in space exploration, and why are they important?

To thrive in space exploration, you typically need a strong background in STEM fields, such as engineering, physics, or astronomy, often supported by an advanced degree. Familiarity with specialized tools like spacecraft systems, robotics, simulation software, and, for some roles, pilot or technical certifications is essential. Collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability are crucial soft skills for working in multidisciplinary teams and handling the unique challenges of space missions. These skills and qualifications ensure safe, innovative, and effective contributions to complex space projects and missions.

What is the difference between Space Exploration vs Satellite Technician?

AspectSpace ExplorationSatellite Technician
Required CredentialsEngineering degrees, specialized training in aerospace or astrophysicsTechnical diploma or associate degree in electronics or telecommunications
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, spacecraft, space agencies, remote field sitesSatellite ground stations, repair facilities, telecommunications companies
Employer & Industry UsageNASA, SpaceX, aerospace firmsTelecom companies, satellite service providers

Space Exploration involves designing, developing, and conducting missions to explore outer space, often requiring advanced degrees and working in research or space agency environments. Satellite Technicians focus on maintaining and repairing satellites, typically working in ground stations or repair facilities with technical certifications. While both roles are in the aerospace industry, they differ in scope, skills, and work settings.

What are careers in space exploration?

Careers in space exploration include roles such as aerospace engineers, astrophysicists, mission controllers, and spacecraft technicians. These jobs often require specialized education in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), and may involve working with advanced tools, research, and spacecraft in laboratory or space agency environments.

What are popular job titles related to Space Exploration jobs in Virginia?

For Space Exploration jobs in Virginia, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Space Exploration jobs in Virginia look for?

The top searched job categories for Space Exploration jobs in Virginia are:

Space Exploration jobs near you
Infographic showing various Space Exploration job openings in Virginia as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 82% Full Time, 15% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 12% Remote job distribution.

Systems Architect / Technical Product Lead (All levels)

Redwire Space

Chantilly, VA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 24 days ago

Job description

Redwire is an innovative space and defense technology company driving advanced capabilities across the aerospace sector. We are looking for a leader who can contribute to concept of operations development, mission solution design, and strategic analysis for spacecraft programs supporting National Security Space. This includes work spanning space domain awareness, space resiliency, mission autonomy, structures, sensors, and next-generation space systems.
The Software Architect / Technical Product Lead will be the technical authority responsible for defining, governing, and evolving a digital ecosystem that underpins the company's emulation, simulation, digital-engineering, data, and software platforms. This role blends systems full-stack technical expertise and product leadership to ensure corporate modeling, simulation, digital-threads, and software capabilities are coherent, scalable, secure, and aligned with mission and business objectives. You will guide enterprise-level architectural decisions, mentor engineers, and shape the long-term technical roadmap for enterprise systems.
Major Responsibilities
  • Champion for integration of Digital Engineering MBSE practices, SysML modeling, and digital-thread integration across Redwire's enterprise.
  • Defines system level architectures spanning modeling & simulation, backend services, data platforms, digital-engineering workflows, and UI/UX integration. Oversee virtual system integration, verification, and validation strategies for multi-domain systems.
  • Builds and scales knowledge-graph or graph-oriented data systems architectures supporting simulation and digital-engineering workflows.
  • Designs and simulates system and subsystem interfaces across agentic methodologies, software, databases, simulation, and hardware boundaries to enable the ability to connect, access, and share proprietary data.
  • Maintains digital twins for spacecraft, mission systems, and engineering workflows, ensuring traceability and configuration integrity
  • Translates mission needs and business objectives into architectural roadmaps, capability definitions, and execution plans. Works closely with systems engineers, simulation experts, software teams, mission analysts, and product leadership to align architecture with program goals.
  • Presents architectural strategies, tradeoffs, and roadmaps to executives, customers, and technical stakeholders.

Ideal Experience
  • Enterprise architecture leadership - 7-15 years of experience architecting complex software, simulation, or mission-critical systems, including multi-team technical leadership. Knowledge of data-modeling, storage strategies, indexing, lineage, and governance across relational, graph, and document databases. Ability to translate mission needs and business objectives into architectural roadmaps, capability definitions, and execution plans.
  • Full-stack engineering leadership - Deep experience building and owning production systems across frontend, backend, and distributed service layers. Strong understanding of concurrency, caching, distributed systems, and performance optimization across the stack
  • Modeling & simulation expertise - Deep expertise in physics-based modeling, digital twins, digital threads, MBSE/SysML, and simulation-driven system design. Previously lead the design and evolution of simulation engines, scenario frameworks, and AI-augmented simulation workflows.
  • Modern frontend architecture - Expertise in TypeScript/JavaScript, React, scalable UI architectures, and performance-critical visualization interfaces. Architect REST, GraphQL, and gRPC ecosystems, including schema governance, versioning, and cross-service contract management.
  • High-performance backend systems - Proficiency with Python, C++, and/or Rust for APIs, microservices, simulation-adjacent services, and high-throughput backend systems. Ability to architect compute environments spanning on-prem clusters, GPU/accelerated compute, Kubernetes, and hybrid cloud deployments.
  • DevSecOps alignment - Strong grounding in DevSecOps principles, supply-chain security, secrets management, and compliance frameworks.
  • Executive communication - Present architectural strategies, tradeoffs, and roadmaps to executives, customers, and technical stakeholders. Work closely with systems engineers, simulation experts, software teams, mission analysts, and product leadership to align architecture with program goals.
  • Security eligibility - U.S. Citizen; able to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret or TS/SCI clearance.

Desired Skills
  • Mission-system architecture - Experience architecting systems for aerospace, defense, robotics, or other high-integrity domains. Proficiency with Cameo Systems Modeler, Teamwork Cloud, or comparable MBSE tools.
  • Physics-based modeling - Advanced experience with MATLAB/Simulink or Python scientific libraries for numerical modeling and simulation.
  • Simulation workflows - Exposure to mission design, configuration analysis, trade-space exploration, or simulation orchestration. Understanding of 2D/3D visualization frameworks (WebGL, Three.js, R3F, Cesium) and their integration with simulation backends.
  • HPC & GPU-accelerated simulation - Familiarity with heterogeneous compute pipelines, GPU kernels, and large-scale simulation orchestration.
  • Systems engineering certifications - INCOSE CSEP/ESEP, OCSMP, cloud architecture certifications, or equivalent.
  • Requirements management - Experience with Jama, DOORS, or similar tools.
  • Define enterprise architecture - Own the long-term architectural vision across simulation, data, backend, frontend, and infrastructure systems. Establish coding standards, API governance, data-modeling conventions, and architectural review processes.
  • Mentor senior engineers - Provide technical mentorship, architectural coaching, and career guidance to senior and staff-level engineers.
  • Drive cross-team alignment - Ensure architectural coherence across simulation, DevOps, systems engineering, and product teams.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies - Assess new tools, frameworks, and methodologies for strategic adoption.
  • Support proposals & customer engagements - Contribute to technical proposals, customer briefings, and architecture-focused reviews.
  • Security eligibility - U.S. Citizen; able to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret or TS/SCI clearance.

Pay range
$108,000 - $190,000 per year
Grow with us as we innovate the next generation capabilities for a new era of space exploration! We offer a highly competitive benefits package along with a commitment to our core values of Integrity, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, and Excellence.
Don't meet every single requirement above? No worries. We want people who can grow, collaborate and build a stronger team. We strive to build a diverse and inclusive culture, so if you're excited about this job posting, we encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Redwire Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with MIS is governed on the basis of 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.
All offers of employment at Redwire Space are contingent upon clear results of a thorough background check.
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. Learn more about the Click Here

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