Senior Engineer - Navigation, Guidance & Controls (NGC)

Ethereal Exploration Guild; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Ethereal Exploration Guild in Bengaluru is seeking a Senior Engineer - Navigation, Guidance & Controls (NGC) to own end-to-end GNC for a fully reusable launch vehicle. You will work across simulation, flight software, and hardware, influencing trajectory design, validation, and rapid iterations in a startup environment.

The role requires strong fundamentals in flight dynamics, control theory, and state estimation, with hands-on experience translating math into flight code and delivering

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant engineering/physics field.
• Strong fundamentals in Flight dynamics, Guidance, Navigation & Control, and numerical optimization.
• Ph.D. is desirable, but hands-on experience is valued more.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimize end-to-end trajectories: ascent, stage separation, boost-back, entry, descent, and precision landing.
• Develop real-time guidance algorithms and flight-ready control systems.
• Build high-fidelity simulation environments (SIL) and integrate flight software into simulations.
• Lead or contribute to HIL setups, validate GNC performance with real avionics, and analyze flight data.

Skills

Trajectory optimization

Real-time guidance

Nonlinear dynamics

Control theory

State estimation

Kalman filtering

Flight dynamics

Numerical optimization

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Aerospace Engineering/ Mechanical Engineering/ Control Systems/ Physics

Ph.D. desirable

Tools

CasADi

SNOPT

IPOPT

GPOPS-II

DIDO

MATLAB/Simulink

dSPACE/Speedgoat

Job description

Founded in 2022, Ethereal Exploration Guild (The Guild) is building the World’s First Fully Reusable Medium-Lift Launch Vehicle/Rocket, Razor Crest Mk-1(RCM1).

Based in India, the team has a combined flight heritage of over 75 launches from the PSLV and GSLV fleets, and more than 300 years of collective experience in the space industry. The Guild is also developing a 700,000 sq ft facility dedicated to Upper Stage Engine Testing, which is going to be India’s largest privately developed Engine Testing Facility.

The Guild has also built and manufactured India’s First Reusable Rocket Engine.

We are looking for a self-motivated individual to join the Hands of the Guild as a Senior Engineer - Navigation, Guidance & Controls (NGC).

Job-Type: On-site, Monday - Saturday

Role Summary:

As a Senior Engineer - NGC, you will take end-to-end ownership of guidance, navigation, and control systems for a fully-reusable launch vehicle - from trajectory design to real-time flight validation. In a startup setting, you will work across simulation, flight software, and hardware, directly influencing vehicle design, mission success, and rapid iteration cycles.

Core Responsibilities:

Trajectory Generation & Mission Design:

• Design and optimize end-to-end trajectories: ascent, stage separation, boost-back, entry, descent, and precision landing.
• Develop real-time implementable guidance algorithms.
• Balance optimality vs robustness vs computational constraints for onboard implementation.
• Rapidly iterate trajectory designs based on vehicle changes, test data, and evolving requirements.

GNC Algorithm Development & Flight Qualification:

• Build flight-ready guidance and control algorithms from scratch and take them to production
• Design control systems for highly complex, non-linear dynamic systems for ascent and re-entry.
• Develop navigation solutions with multi-sensor fusion.

SIL (Software-in-the-Loop):

• Build and own high-fidelity, modular simulation environments.
• Integrate flight software directly into simulations for rapid validation.
• Create tools to visualize trajectories, dispersions, and failure modes.

HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop) – Bridging to Reality:

• Lead or heavily contribute to HIL setup and execution using real avionics.
• Validate GNC performance for real-time constraints, hardware interfaces, communication delays/ faults.
• Work closely with hardware teams to debug integration issues quickly.
• Support subsystem/ system/ vehicle testing campaigns.
• Analyze flight data and close the loop rapidly (hours/days, not months).
• Identify root causes of anomalies and implement fast, safe fixes.
• Continuously improve landing accuracy, robustness, and reusability metrics

Startup Ownership & Cross-Functional Impact:

• Operate across boundaries: trajectory + GNC + simulation + flight software.
• Work directly across technical, operations, assembly & integration, safety & reliability teams for flight qualification.

Educational Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering/ Mechanical Engineering/ Control Systems/ Physics or related field.
• Strong fundamentals in Flight dynamics (3-DOF / 6-DOF), Guidance, Navigation & Control, Orbital and atmospheric mechanics, Numerical optimization, Statistical Methods.
• Ph.D. is desirable, but hands‑on experience is valued more than academic credentials.

Required Technical Skills:

• Strong experience in trajectory optimization + real-time guidance implementation.
• Deep understanding of Nonlinear dynamics, Control theory (PID, LQR, MPC, robust/adaptive methods), and State estimation (Kalman filtering variants).
• Ability to translate mathematical formulations to working flight code.

Programming & Systems:

• Python
• C/C++
• MATLAB/Simulink.
• Experience in building simulation frameworks

Optimization & Tools:

• Experience with CasADi/ SNOPT/ IPOPT/ GPOPS-II/ DIDO

Simulation, SIL & HIL:

• SIL pipelines with automated testing
• HIL systems (real-time constraints, embedded interfaces)
• Familiarity with dSPACE/ Speedgoat or equivalent platforms

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• 3 - 5 years in NGC, trajectory design, or flight simulation
• Experience with Launch vehicles, missiles, satellites, or planetary landers