Senior Mission Engineer – Advanced Reentry
Johns Hopkins APL · Laurel, MD · Systems Engineering
About this role
Johns Hopkins APL is hiring a senior-level Systems Engineer in the operations function based in Laurel, MD. The posting calls out experience with System Design.
- Role
- Systems Engineer
- Function
- operations
- Level
- senior
- Track
- Individual contributor
- Location
- Laurel, MD
- Department
- Systems Engineering
- Posted
- May 15, 2026
More roles at Johns Hopkins APL
Job description
from Johns Hopkins APL careersAre you interested in hypersonic and reentry system design and prototyping?
Do you want to make contributions that accelerate the readiness of our Nation’s defenses to support next generation hypersonic and reentry systems?
If so, we are seeking a highly technical mission engineer to help assess, design, and prototype next generation hypersonic, reentry systems and enabling technologies. As a member of our team, you’ll be making critical contributions to develop these next generation systems, ensuring the enduring effectiveness of our Nation’s strategic deterrent. You will be joining a complementary team of engineers who work together to provide impactful solutions to system level objectives and challenges. We are passionate about innovation and our team is committed to providing engaging, challenging work and supporting continued learning and development.
As a Senior Mission Engineer you will…
- Provide mission‑engineering expertise and leadership to assess operational objectives, identify capability gaps and develop end‑to‑end mission architectures for next‑generation hypersonic and reentry systems.
- Translate high‑level mission goals into functional requirements, performance metrics and trade‑study models by leading multidisciplinary mission‑analysis teams—including APL engineers, government sponsors, military operators, and industry partners
- Conduct mission‑level trade studies, risk assessments, and scenario‑based simulations to evaluate concepts of operations, system‑of‑systems interactions, and survivability against emerging threats.