Orbit Analyst and Space Application Modeling

Job ID: 2616419

Location: Chantilly, VA, US

Date Posted: 2026-09-01

Category: Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory: Modeling/Sim Engr

Schedule: Full-Time

Shift: Day Job

Travel: Yes - 10% of the time

Minimum Clearance Required: TS.SCI_wPoly

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: None

Potential for Remote Work: ORA_ON_SITE

Description

SAIC is seeking an individual for an Orbit Analyst and Space Application Modeling role to join the Air Force, Space and Intel Business Group. This group provides specialized program management, engineering, analysis and operations support to a variety of Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) customers. You would support the cutting-edge programs in national security-related systems based in space, in the air and on the ground.

This Orbit Analyst and Space Modeling role will work in a collaborative team-focused environment in prototyping, designing, and integrating tools which will be used in modeling and simulating space vehicle missions. This position will help progress and advance current and future concepts to inform missions and potential acquisitions. Your role will be to provide expertise and proficiency to develop algorithms, support modeling and simulation efforts and provide orbit analytic skills to conduct analyses to support physics-based modeling for space mission applications. This position is in direct support to the community’s space situational awareness mission.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Conduct analysis of mission data applicable to space domain missions to promote awareness and understanding about threat behaviors and system vulnerabilities
• Formulate and interpret problems in mathematical or computational terms
• Design, develop, use, and evaluate mathematical models, methods, and algorithm applications to explore concepts and solve problems in the area of orbit dynamics and data analytics
• Develop, maintain, and enhance complex and diverse software algorithms (e.g. processing-intensive analytics, novel process development, manipulation of large data sets)
• Advance and progress space-based models for integration into simulation scenarios
• Research analysis products and tools for possible integration to enhance Modeling & Simulation framework
• Create new tools and applications using a variety of software languages, frameworks, and libraries
• Improve, support, and test a Modeling & Simulation framework to support other team members’ analytic work
• Refine and enhance existing applications to better meet the customer’s mission
• Code, test, and maintain internally developed mathematical software tools

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or related discipline is required

• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph
• Minimum of 5 years of experience of demonstrated on-the-job knowledge of providing space vehicle or orbit dynamics support
• Demonstrated proficiency in using orbit analysis tools such as STK, Free Flyer or other orbital software modeling packages
• Hands-on experience creating algorithms and engineering tools for data processing and modeling and simulation using Java, Python or C++
• Practical understanding in modeling and simulation with a focus on optimization, including theoretical and numerical methods for analysis of current and future systems
• Must have the aptitude and attitude to tackle unsolved technical challenges
• Capability to distill complex problems into digestible structures/formats

Desired Skills:

• Advanced Degree in Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Data Science, or related discipline
• Demonstrated experience in developing new capabilities, methodologies, and processes to improve data extraction
• Experience and knowledge related to visualizing and conveying complex information results
• Other complementary skills such as CAD modeling, Linux experience and programming with OpenGL/JOGL
• Previous experience supporting the Intelligence Community and/or the Department of Defense
• Ability to communicate very technical subjects to a diverse audience with varying levels of technical expertise
• Experience in data analysis and modeling and of operational space systems, assessing performance in current and projected operational environments
• Knowledge and experience with configuration management and version control tools

Target salary range: $120,001 - $160,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.