Chief Engineer, Kill Vehicle

YOUR MISSION

True Anomaly is seeking a highly accomplished Chief Engineer, Kill Vehicle to architect, develop, and lead advanced flight sciences across our next-generation missile defense program. This role will drive the aerodynamic, guidance, and control foundations for high-velocity reentry vehicles, hypersonic flight control, and terminal end-game dynamics critical to missile intercept missions. You will be responsible for building the analytical and experimental backbone that ensures our interceptors achieve precision, survivability, and mission success against evolving threats. At True Anomaly, this means shaping history, defining the technical playbook for how missile defense is achieved in space through engineering solutions that endure, inspire, and defend against tomorrow’s most formidable threats.

RESPONSIBILITIES

As Chief Engineer, Kill Vehicle, you will serve as the chief technical authority across the missile defense portfolio, establishing and maintaining the technical baseline for all models, simulations, and performance criteria. You will shape the long-term roadmap for aerodynamic, guidance, and terminal control capabilities in alignment with program strategy and U.S. Space Force/DoD needs, while partnering closely with executive leadership to inform investment priorities, capture strategy, and customer engagement.

You will define and oversee the flight sciences architecture of our next generation missile defense program, ensuring seamless integration with guidance, navigation, seeker, propulsion, and command-and-control elements. This includes leading the creation of comprehensive modeling and simulation frameworks that span from low-fidelity raid-scale performance to high-fidelity terminal intercept dynamics, ensuring architectures remain scalable, modular, and extensible across multiple interceptor variants.

At the organizational level, you will build and lead a multidisciplinary flight sciences team of CFD experts, control theorists, trajectory analysts, and simulation engineers. You will establish standards, processes, and reviews that enforce technical rigor while enabling innovation, and you will shape recruiting, mentorship, and professional development pathways to grow the next generation of aerospace defense engineers.

Finally, you will drive execution and mission assurance, serving as the final authority on design decisions, leading technical reviews (CoDR, PDR, CDR, MRRR), and overseeing risk identification and mitigation throughout development. You will guide test and validation campaigns—including wind tunnel testing, hardware-in-the-loop simulations, and intercept demonstration flights—while ensuring safety, compliance, and mission-critical reliability across all phases of the program.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field (focus in flight dynamics, hypersonics, or missile defense preferred)
• 15+ years of experience in aerospace flight sciences, missile defense, or hypersonic vehicle programs
• Success in prior programs demonstrating expertise in reentry vehicle aerodynamics, hypersonic flight control, and terminal intercept dynamics
• Strategic thinker with the ability to connect technical architectures to program strategy including the design of development and qualification test strategy
• Deep technical credibility in CFD, aerothermal modeling, 6-DOF simulations, and advanced control systems
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and organizational influence
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment where execution speed and rigor are equally valued
• U.S. Citizen and eligible for DoD Secret

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field (focus in flight dynamics, hypersonics, or missile defense preferred)
• Experience with missile defense systems, battle management systems, or space-based C2 architectures
• Familiarity with hypersonic defense engagement timelines and associated fire control challenges
• Experience engaging with DoD/USSF, C2BMC, or related missile defense programs
• Hands-on knowledge of AI/ML-enabled autonomy, simulation frameworks, and digital twin architectures
• Demonstrated success leading large, multidisciplinary technical teams at the Director/VP level
• TS/SCI clearance

COMPENSATION

• Base Salary: Denver: $220,000 - $285,000 | Long Beach: $225,000 - $290,000

• Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Work Location—Successful candidates will be located near Denver. While we observe a hybrid work environment, some work must be done on site.
• Work environment—the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands—the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.

This position will be open until it is successfully filled. To submit your application, please follow the directions below.

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