GNC Test and Integration Engineer

PAVE Space SA; Villeneuve (VD); Remote; CHF 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

PAVE Space SA in Villeneuve (VD) is seeking an engineer to own GNC test infrastructure from concept to working hardware, including sensors, actuators, and control systems hardware.

You will design PIL, tabletop HIL, and dynamic HIL setups, automate test environments for unattended operation, and turn measurements into clear pass/fail results as flight hardware comes together.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience testing GNC sensors, actuators, or control systems hardware.
• Strong foundation in electrical and mechanical design for test setups.
• Capacity to own scope end to end from design through commissioning.
• Experience building instrumented hardware.

Responsibilities

• Build and commission GNC test benches for sensors and actuators, from concept to working hardware
• Design and maintain PIL, tabletop HIL, and dynamic HIL simulation setups
• Automate test environments so unattended, around-the-clock testing runs safely and efficiently
• Characterise sensor noise, bias, drift, and actuator performance, and turn data into clear pass/fail results
• Investigate hardware and software anomalies surfaced during testing
• Own integration tooling and vehicle acceptance test processes as flight hardware comes together

Skills

GNC hardware testing

Test automation

Data analysis

MATLAB/Python/C++

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related field

Tools

MATLAB

Python

C++

Job description

PAVE Space is building LYOBA, a heavy kick stage moving up to 4-tonne payloads from LEO to high-energy orbits in under 24 hours.

So, why now? We're standing up component-level test infrastructure for GNC sensors (sun sensors, star trackers, GPS) and actuators (reaction wheels, magnetorquers), along with system-level PIL, tabletop HIL, and dynamic HIL simulation environments. The benches need to be running in weeks, not quarters. As vehicle integration approaches, the same person owns the tooling and acceptance tests that clear hardware for flight.

You will own

Build and commission GNC test benches for sensors and actuators, from concept to working hardware

Design and maintain PIL, tabletop HIL, and dynamic HIL simulation setups

Automate test environments so unattended, around-the-clock testing runs safely and efficiently

Characterise sensor noise, bias, drift, and actuator performance, and turn data into clear pass/fail results

Investigate hardware and software anomalies surfaced during testing

Own integration tooling and vehicle acceptance test processes as flight hardware comes together

What we are looking for

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related field

Hands-on experience testing GNC sensors, actuators, or control systems hardware

Strong foundation in electrical and mechanical design for test setups

Proficient in MATLAB, Python, or C++ for test automation and data analysis

A track record of building something from nothing to working, instrumented hardware

Comfortable owning scope end to end, from design through commissioning

Nice to have: advanced degree (Aerospace, Robotics, Control Systems), spacecraft avionics architecture knowledge, experience with HIL/SIL frameworks, rapid prototyping background, or high-reliability industry experience (aerospace, automotive, robotics).

You will fit if

You'd rather own the whole test chain than hand off pieces to someone else.

You care about measurement uncertainty and edge cases because you know that's where hardware actually gets qualified.

You step outside your discipline when the timeline demands it: wiring a harness one day, writing a Python script the next.

You want your work to directly gate whether something flies.

This is fully on-site in Villeneuve (VD), early-stage, and demanding. Some of these benches don't exist yet; you're building them, not inheriting them. Things will break, schedules will be tight, and you'll need to figure out problems that don't have a manual.

What makes that worth it: You'll own the infrastructure that qualifies every GNC component on a vehicle designed to reach GEO in under 24 hours. You'll have real ownership and real support from a sharp GNC team that ships hardware, not papers. We are building to ship, grounded on real hardware, real funding, real milestones.