Principal Vehicle & Mission Operations Engineer

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by over $1 billion in total funding from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, ICONIQ, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and T. Rowe Price — and with over $1 billion in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers, we're mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space. The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today's and tomorrow's massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits. With multiple launches in 2027 and plans to scale to 100 satellites a year, we're Building Bigger — helping develop the solar system and build toward a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a high-growth Series D-funded company, we'd love for you to apply. The Role From day one, you’ll be hands-on with our integrat [... source excerpt omitted ...] tion control. The path to operating dozens—or hundreds—of satellites will be yours to help chart. The success of our constellations will depend on the foundations you help build. Responsibilities Define and operationalize our Mission operations concept for the first satellite mission, including procedures, tools, and real-time support systems Develop telemetry monitoring strategies, fault response frameworks, and command plans for pre-launch, LEOP, and nominal operations Collaborate closely with systems, software, and hardware teams to ensure operational readiness across all spacecraft subsystems Drive the roadmap for mission operations tooling, ground segment workflows, and long [... source excerpt omitted ...] nation Operate spacecraft (interpret telemetry, send commands) during system tests at the factory, test facilities, launch sites, and during pre-launch operations Interface with customers to scope testing performed on their payloads, based on expected functions and failure modes of interest Assess risks associated with different integration and test approaches, justify test reductions and optimize vehicle build/test flows for at-rate production Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in electrical, aerospace, mechanical, computer, or other relevant engineering discipline 10+ years of experience in an operations/integration/automation engineering role including 4 years of direct ex