Senior Quality & Flight Assurance Engineer

Scout Space is building a new way to see and operate in space: with a new paradigm of data empowering every satellite to make space safer. We are a rapidly-growing team; we are deploying real solutions to orbit over the next 2 years; and our work will transform the face of spaceflight. We are looking for people that bring excitement and energy to our organization, are curious and eager to learn, and want to help drive our programs forward.

As a Senior Quality & Flight Assurance Engineer, you will serve as the technical authority for quality, reliability, and mission assurance across our spaceflight programs. This role owns flight assurance from early design through on-orbit operations and ensures Scout’s hardware and software meet mission, customer, and launch provider expectations, without slowing execution. 

You will act as a trusted partner to engineering leadership, program teams, and external stakeholders, embedding risk-informed decision-making and disciplined execution across multiple concurrent payloads. 

Responsibilities

Flight & Mission Assurance Leadership 

• Own end-to-end flight and mission assurance for Scout’s spaceflight payloads and missions.
• Lead risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and acceptance across programs.
• Drive FMEA/FMECA, hazard analyses, and anomaly investigations with clear, actionable outcomes.
• Serve as the assurance authority in design, test, and flight readiness reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR, etc). 

Quality Engineering & Configuration Control 

• Define, implement, and continuously improve Scout’s quality management approach for spaceflight hardware and software.
• Own non-conformance reporting (NCRs), root cause analysis, and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA).
• Ensure configuration management, documentation control, and traceability across design and production builds.
• Partner with suppliers and internal teams to manage supplier quality and acceptance. 

Manufacturing, Integration & Test Assurance 

• Support multiple simultaneous payload builds, ensuring workmanship, process discipline, and test rigor.
• Embed quality and assurance practices directly into integration and test workflows.
• Participate hands-on in I&T activities as needed to rapidly diagnose and resolve issues. 

Customer & Partner Interface 

• Interface directly with government and commercial customers and spacecraft integrators on assurance expectations.
• Translate customer assurance requirements into executable internal processes.
• Represent Scout’s technical rigor and flight readiness in external reviews. 

Scaling & Continuous Improvement 

• Help scale assurance practices as Scout moves from early missions to higher-rate production and repeatable flight cadence.
• Balance speed and rigor—implementing right-sized processes appropriate for Class C/D missions.
• Capture lessons learned from flight and test data to improve future missions. 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in quality engineering, flight assurance, mission assurance, or reliability engineering for space or other high-reliability systems.
• Direct experience supporting spaceflight hardware through design, integration, test, and delivery.
• Deep knowledge of FMEA/FMECA, risk management, anomaly resolution, and flight readiness processes.
• Experience working with government and/or commercial spaceflight standards and customer requirements.
• Strong technical judgment and the ability to make risk-informed decisions in fast-paced environments. 

Preferred Qualification

• Experience with flown payloads, spacecraft, or on-orbit operations.
• Background in smallsat, CubeSat, or hosted payload programs.
• Experience interfacing with spacecraft bus vendors.
• Familiarity with both hardware and software assurance.
• Experience scaling quality and mission assurance in a growing organization. 

Benefits

• Open Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave
• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
• 401k Matching
• Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, Dependent Care FSA
• Wellness Stipend
• Work From Home Stipend
• Life Insurance
• Long-term Disability plans
• Commuter Benefit
• Education Reimbursement

Don't fulfill all the qualifications listed above? If you still feel like you might be a good fit, please feel free to APPLY ANYWAY. We believe in a well-rounded team, and this sometimes means that someone with out-of-context knowledge can contribute just as well as someone with very explicit alignment with our capabilities needs stated.

Our positions are based in the Reston, Virginia area. This is an in-person opportunity. 

This position involves access to technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Any job offer made will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to serve in compliance with U.S. export controls.

Scout Space Inc. does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor. To conform to US Government space technology export regulations, applicants must be a US citizen, lawful permanent resident of the US, a protected individual as defined by 8 USC 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorization from the US Department of State.

We’re Proud to Prioritize Mental Health. Scout Space has been recognized with the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health by Mental Health America. This certification reflects our ongoing commitment to creating a supportive environment where mental well-being is valued, protected, and openly talked about. We know that when people feel seen and supported, great work happens, and that is the kind of culture we are building here at Scout Space.

Compensation is based upon candidate experience and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations. Summary pay range: $120,000 - $200,000