Full-Time
Spacecraft Systems Engineer
Posted on 9/4/2025
Turion Space
51-200 employees
Develops in-space infrastructure for debris management
Compensation Overview
$140k - $195k/yr
No H1B Sponsorship
Irvine, CA, USA
In Person
US Top Secret Clearance Required
 Aerospace Engineering (1) |
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- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field
- 6+ years of experience in spacecraft systems engineering, Spacecraft design, or a related field, with hands-on experience in satellite design and integration
- Previous experience with the derivation and maintenance of requirements from a system level down to a lower level
- Ability to create system level budgets (mass, power, delta-V, pointing, link, etc.) and track the budget throughout the project lifecycle
- Proven ability to work collaboratively with multiple teams and disciplines
- Must be able to obtain a Secret and/or a TS/SCI clearance
- Push the technical design for critical satellite programs forward
- Derivation and maintenance of system requirements to ensure mission success
- Working with internal and external stakeholders to define mission ConOps
- Development of subsystem budgets
- Test planning for verification activities
- Collaboration with the multi-disciplinary experts
- Tracking of system compliance and overall performance to the desired mission needs
- Lead teams through technical milestones such as MCR, SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and PSR
- Author Interface Control Documents (ICD)'s and other documentation necessary for the systems engineering process
- Interact directly with customers and/or suppliers to ensure mission success
- 8+ years of experience in spacecraft systems engineering, Spacecraft design, or a related field, with hands-on experience in satellite design and integration
- Experience with Model Based Systems Engineering and applicable software such as Cameo, Capella, Innoslate, or others
- Experience with satellite analysis tools such as Python, Matlab, STK, GMAT, or FreeFlyer
- Experience with requirement management tools such as Jama, Doors, Flow, or others
- Previous experience in a startup work environment
- Full product lifecycle experience: Initial concept design, preliminary design, manufacturing, testing, and operations
Turion Space develops in-space infrastructure to tackle orbital debris and space situational awareness, using DROID satellites and the STARFIRE OS. The DROID satellites provide imaging and space-object tracking, while Starfire NEXUS lets customers deploy their own software and AI workloads on the satellites for on-orbit computing. The company designs and builds both hardware and software in-house, including mission planning, satellite bus, and propulsion, enabling faster execution and tighter control than many rivals. Its goal is to grow a space infrastructure platform that improves space traffic management and debris removal, serving both government and commercial customers in a multi-billion-dollar market.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Series B
Total Funding
$86.3M
Headquarters
Irvine, California
Founded
2021
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- $75M Series B scales production from 8 to 40 spacecraft annually.
- 28 government contracts with NASA, Space Force, SDA, NRO fuel multi-billion pipeline.
- Critical Software partnership enables European expansion via Karvel, Lighthouse.
What critics are saying
- Citra's software fingerprints 10,000 unidentified objects, eroding SSA imaging revenue.
- Terran Orbital undercuts STRATFI launches with larger scale, delaying LEO/GEO missions.
- Tychee TMPL bugs fail USSF demos, causing contract losses to rivals.
What makes Turion Space unique
- DROID satellites deliver non-Earth imaging as first NOAA-licensed commercial provider.
- STARFIRE OS integrates TMPL for real-time autonomous mission planning post-Tychee acquisition.
- Vertically integrated stack controls mission planning to propulsion in-house.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
Paid Vacation
Professional Development Budget
Company Social Events
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -1%1 year growth
↑ 2%2 year growth
↓ -1%Turion Space Corp. acquires Tychee Research Group to accelerate autonomous space operations and mission engineering. Acquisition brings Tychee Mission Planning Library (TMPL) and a world-class astrodynamics team into Turion's Starfire platform, enabling faster, more resilient, software-defined space missions Turion Space Corp. ("Turion"), a space infrastructure company that builds and operates mission-grade spacecraft and space operations software, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Tychee Research Group ("Tychee"), a Los Angeles-based company specializing in high-speed, high-fidelity astrodynamics and advanced mission engineering. Tychee's flagship product, the Tychee Mission Planning Library (TMPL), is a high-performance astronautics software library built to support the full space system lifecycle. The product suite extends from concept design and modeling and simulation, to ground software and flight software running onboard spacecraft. TMPL is trusted in mission-critical environments and is designed for secure deployment and embedded execution, bringing mission engineering closer to real-time operations. With Tychee joining Turion, TMPL will be integrated into Turion's Starfire software ecosystem. This unites mission planning, maneuver optimization, and autonomous operations into a single, software-defined platform that scales from desktop analysis to on-orbit execution. "Turion's mission is to unleash the potential of Earth orbit, and software is what makes spacecraft usable at scale," said Ryan Westerdahl, CEO and Co-Founder of Turion Space Corp. "This acquisition brings an exceptional team and mission planning capability into Turion. Our mission-engineering logic will support everything from trade studies to operational decision-making and on-orbit autonomy." Space missions are demanding faster planning cycles, higher fidelity, and the ability to adapt in real time in constrained and secure environments. Traditional mission design tools were built for the era of desktop-centric workflows, limited integration into flight software, and slow paths from analysis to operations. Tychee and Turion are combining to remove those bottlenecks. The integration of Starfire + TMPL creates an embeddable mission-engineering SDK paired with operator applications that run the same algorithms on the ground and onboard spacecraft, backed by secure deployment options and a web-driven user experience designed to broaden adoption. With Tychee's mission engineering and astrodynamics capabilities embedded into Turion's platform, the combined company will accelerate progress across: * End-to-end mission ownership: Turion expands its ability to own outcomes across the full mission stack so operators can move faster from intent to execution. * Autonomous, software-defined operations: TMPL's performance and flight-software orientation strengthens Starfire's ability to support advanced missions, including real-time maneuver planning and autonomy-oriented workflows. * Scaled adoption across the space ecosystem: TMPL's product-first library model expands Turion's reach across government, commercial, academic, and partner organizations. Rob Brady, founder of Tychee Research Group, will join Turion as Chief Product Officer, leading the product strategy and go-to-market execution for TMPL within the Starfire platform. "I'm excited to bring TMPL to market with Turion," said Rob Brady, Chief Product Officer of Turion Space Corp. and founder of Tychee Research Group. "TMPL was built to be fast and usable across modeling and simulation, ground software, and flight software. Combined with Turion's Starfire platform and spacecraft capabilities, we're delivering mission-engineering infrastructure that is operationally native." Tychee and TMPL continue to support multiple clients and advanced, operational programs. TMPL will support current users and mission needs, with expanded integration and product evolution underway as part of Turion's Starfire portfolio. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. About Tychee Research Group. Tychee Research Group, founded in 2018 and based in Los Angeles, California, specializes in space mission engineering, modeling and simulation, and advanced algorithms for dual-use space capabilities. Tychee's flagship product, the Tychee Mission Planning Library (TMPL), delivers high-performance, high-fidelity astrodynamics and mission planning functionality designed to span analysis, operations, and embedded onboard execution. Media contact. Justin Mikolay Turion Space Corp. [email protected] This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding product integration, roadmap plans, and expected customer benefits. Actual results may differ materially due to a variety of risks and uncertainties.
Turion Space is proud to introduce Starfire NEXUS; a breakthrough platform designed to democratize access to on-orbit compute and redefine what's possible in space.
Turion had raised $26.5 million in venture capital as of December, when the value of its contracts with the government topped $50 million, according to co-founder and CEO Ryan Westerdahl.
WASHINGTON - Washington Harbour Partners has made a strategic investment in Turion Space, a California-based startup developing spacecraft and mission software for space situational awareness, debris removal, and in-orbit services, the company announced April 2.
Critical Software has announced a strategic investment in Turion Space to enhance space capabilities. This partnership aims to address challenges in space domain awareness and non-Earth imaging. Critical Software's platforms, Karvel and Lighthouse, will complement Turion's technologies. The collaboration will support Turion's European expansion and Critical Software's growth in the U.S., setting new standards in space technology innovation.