Senior Mission Assurance Engineer

Job description

At ispace U.S., we’re not just going to the Moon—we’re redefining how we get there. Our missions push the boundaries of human and robotic exploration, driven by our belief: “Expand our Planet. Expand our Future.” By providing cost-effective lunar transportation, we are pioneering a future where space is within reach for scientific discovery, commercial ventures, and sustainable exploration.  

With locations in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States, ispace is rapidly growing and leading the way in lunar exploration and development. Our U.S. branch is based in Englewood, Colorado, and focuses on high-capacity payload lunar landers designed to support future lunar missions. Our team is made up of innovators, problem-solvers, and visionaries committed to making space more accessible and fostering the next generation of space exploration. 

Let’s go to the Moon together! Our team is growing, and we are actively seeking talented individuals who share our passion for space. 

At ispaceUS, we are advancing the technologies and capabilities that will enable a sustainable future in space. We are seeking a Senior Mission Assurance Engineer to play a critical role in ensuring the safety, reliability, and mission readiness of our spacecraft and lunar exploration programs.
In this role, you will provide independent technical oversight throughout the mission lifecycle, working closely with Engineering, Quality, Operations, and Program Management to identify risks, evaluate system reliability, and ensure compliance with applicable safety and mission assurance requirements. You will help safeguard our people, hardware, and missions by championing proactive risk management, sound engineering practices, and a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities
•
Develop, implement, and maintain program Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) plans, ensuring compliance with applicable NASA, customer, regulatory, and program requirements.

•
Provide independent mission assurance oversight throughout spacecraft design, manufacturing, assembly, integration, qualification, testing, and mission readiness activities.

•
Participate in major program lifecycle and technical reviews, evaluating safety, reliability, critical items, outstanding risks, and supporting verification evidence.

•
Lead and coordinate system safety and hazard management activities, including hazard identification, safety analyses, risk assessments, hazard controls, and verification of compliance with applicable Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and OSHA requirements.

•
Independently assess safety and mission risks, evaluate mitigation effectiveness and residual risk, and elevate significant concerns through established risk management processes.

•
Coordinate reliability assurance activities, including Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA/FMECA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), single-point failure assessments, critical item identification, fault tolerance, and limited-life considerations.

•
Provide mission assurance oversight of Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) parts, Materials and Processes, contamination control, workmanship standards, and software and firmware assurance.

•
Coordinate applicable range and launch safety, planetary protection, orbital debris mitigation, and other mission-specific assurance requirements.

•
Evaluate hardware and software nonconformances, failures, investigations, and corrective actions to assess potential impacts on personnel safety, system reliability, and mission success.

•
Monitor significant hazards, critical items, and mission assurance concerns, ensuring effective risk mitigation, appropriate documentation, and timely resolution.

•
Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to incorporate lessons learned, strengthen assurance processes, and drive continuous improvement throughout the mission lifecycle.

•
Promote a proactive culture of safety, technical excellence, accountability, and mission success across the organization.

Basic Qualifications
•
Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Systems, Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or a related engineering discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.

•
10+ years of experience in aerospace mission assurance, system safety, reliability engineering, or a related technical discipline.

•
Experience supporting complex aerospace programs through design, development, manufacturing, integration, testing, and mission readiness.

•
Strong understanding of aerospace Safety and Mission Assurance principles, system safety, reliability engineering, and technical risk management.

•
Demonstrated experience conducting or reviewing hazard analyses, safety assessments, reliability evaluations, and verification of hazard controls.

•
Knowledge of reliability engineering methodologies, including FMEA/FMECA, Fault Tree Analysis, critical item assessments, and single-point failure analysis.

•
Working kno

Prepare for the interview

Nothing collected for this employer yet. The Blind 75 is what technical screens draw from; practice it here, with a coach, in Java or Python.

More at ispace

• Senior Sales Engineer / Sales Engineer (APAC Sales Group) · Tokyo, Japan
• Manager, Spacecraft Manufacturing · Englewood, Colorado
• Senior Hardware Quality Engineer · Englewood, Colorado
• Senior Avionics Design Engineer · Tokyo, Japan