As a Mission Operations Engineer, you will deploy and integrate solutions, build relationships with clients, provide training, enhance products, and solve operational issues.
About Nominal
Nominal is building the connected test and operations platform powering the world's most advanced hardware systems, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation defense programs. Our platform gives hardware engineering teams a single place to ingest data, analyze performance, automate test execution, and collaborate across every phase of development, so they can move faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
We serve top-tier commercial and defense customers, from autonomy leaders like Anduril and Shield AI to next-generation aerospace teams like Hermeus and REGENT, and performance engineering teams like Pratt Miller Motorsports, alongside mission partners within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force on programs where failure isn’t an option. We’re backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.
As a Mission Operations Engineer, you'll bridge Nominal's software with real-world applications, becoming an indispensable advisor to our customers. You'll ensure our solutions not only meet but exceed operational requirements, tailoring deployments to unique environments, providing comprehensive training, and directly addressing any challenges that arise. Your work will transform customer operations, enhance user experiences, and drive Nominal's technology to new frontiers.
🚀 About the role
- Deploy & Integrate: Take Nominal's tech to operation on the ground, tailoring solutions to fit our clients' high-stakes environments perfectly.
- Build Relationships & Business: You're not just deploying technology; you're growing Nominal's presence and impact and establishing deep, productive partnerships. You’re acting as an account manager and product expert, and important relational and technical capital is on your shoulders.
- Train & Support: You're on the front lines, making sure our users understand our products and can use them to their full potential.
- Enhance & Evolve: Your feedback loops are gold, turning user experiences into actionable insights for continuous product improvement.
- Solve & Streamline: See an issue? You're on it, with the autonomy to fix problems fast and keep our technology ahead of the curve.
- Be the Bridge: You're the vital link between Nominal and our customers, translating needs into solutions and ensuring seamless collaboration across all fronts.
🔍 We're looking for someone with
- Proven Engineering Expertise: 4+ years of professional experience, and have worked in the trenches of hardware engineering. You have firsthand experience in environments like propulsion test stands, satellite mission operations, or flight testing. Your resume says, "I've built and tested the future."
- Technical Sharpshooter: Your intellectual curiosity drives you to solve complex problems. You think in systems and see the big picture, yet you're all about nailing the details. You have a strong intuition for the math and physics our customers encounter daily.
- Communicator & Influencer: You articulate complex ideas with ease and confidence, steering conversations and projects with clarity and honesty.
- Dynamic Leader & Team Player: With a mix of humility, eagerness to learn, and empathy, you're a natural at leading and lifting those around you. You don't just spot problems; you solve them.
- Project Maestro: You have a solid track record of turning technical concepts into reality and managing the full cycle from planning to deployment.
- Ready to Roll: Up to 50% travel? No problem. You're ready to be where the action is, anywhere, anytime.
- Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. TS Clearance
⚡ Skills that supercharge us
- Customer-facing skills: Experienced consultant, customer success leader, and/or technical program manager
- In-Field Hardware Mastery: Proficiency with hardware engineering tools such as DAQs, DDS, Nix, RTOS, MCAP, H5, TDMS, LabVIEW, MATLAB/Simulink, and WinPlot.
- Data Engineering Proficiency: Expertise in SQL, Python, Pandas, Influx, and Grafana. Familiarity with Spark, Arrow, Kafka, Beam, and Flink.
✨ Benefits/Perks
- 🏥 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 🏖️ Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- 🍽️ Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- 🚀 Professional Development Stipend
- ✈️ Annual company retreat
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
CompensationThe base pay range for this role is $120,000 – $195,000 per year.
Nominal Austin, Texas, USA Office
Austin, TX, United States
Similar Jobs
Aerospace
Lead spacecraft mission operations for the Blue Ghost lunar program: architect ground systems and ConOps, produce flight operations products, run simulations and training, validate system readiness, and execute missions from planning through real-time console operations and anomaly response.
Artificial Intelligence • Hardware • Software • Defense • Manufacturing
Deploy, validate, and iterate autonomous surface vessels through structured field tests, real-time troubleshooting, telemetry/data logging, and cross-functional coordination. Own test planning, safety protocols, post-mission reporting, root cause analyses, and ensure alignment with DoD performance and safety standards while supporting ongoing software and capability rollouts.
Top Skills:
AICliCommunications SystemsData LoggingEmbedded SystemsEo/IrImuMachine LearningMarine Navigation SystemsNetworking ProtocolsPythonRadarReal-Time ComputingRoboticsRustSensor IntegrationTelemetry
Artificial Intelligence • Hardware • Software • Defense • Manufacturing
Deploys, validates, and iteratively improves autonomous surface vessels through structured field tests, real-time troubleshooting, data logging, telemetry monitoring, and cross-functional coordination. Plans and executes test cases, performs root cause analysis, maintains vessels and test environments, and ensures compliance with DoD performance and safety standards.
Top Skills:
AICliEmbedded SystemsEo/IrImuMachine LearningMarine Navigation SystemsNetworking ProtocolsPythonRadarReal-Time ComputingRoboticsRustTelemetry
What you need to know about the Austin Tech Scene
Austin has a diverse and thriving tech ecosystem thanks to home-grown companies like Dell and major campuses for IBM, AMD and Apple. The state’s flagship university, the University of Texas at Austin, is known for its engineering school, and the city is known for its annual South by Southwest tech and media conference. Austin’s tech scene spans many verticals, but it’s particularly known for hardware, including semiconductors, as well as AI, biotechnology and cloud computing. And its food and music scene, low taxes and favorable climate has made the city a destination for tech workers from across the country.
Key Facts About Austin Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 180,500; 13.7% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Dell, IBM, AMD, Apple, Alphabet
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, hardware, cloud computing, software, healthtech
- Funding Landscape: $4.5 billion in VC funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Live Oak Ventures, Austin Ventures, Hinge Capital, Gigafund, KdT Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, Silverton Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: University of Texas, Southwestern University, Texas State University, Center for Complex Quantum Systems, Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, Texas Advanced Computing Center
