Autonomous Spacecraft Guidance & Control Engineer

Fortastra Corporation; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Comprehensive Healthcare

Equity

401(k)

Job summary

Fortastra is seeking a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer to design, implement, and validate flight-critical algorithms for autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations, and formation flying. The role emphasizes state estimation, Kalman filtering, and embedded flight software integration, tested in HIL environments, on-site in Torrance, CA, with TS/SCI eligibility.

Required: 5+ years in spacecraft or autonomous GNC, strong MATLAB/Simulink, Python, and C/C++.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in spacecraft, launch vehicle, or autonomous system GNC.
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, Python, and C/C++.
• Demonstrated experience with Kalman filtering, nonlinear control, and state estimation.
• Proven ability to transition algorithms from simulation to flight in operational environments.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and tune GNC algorithms for relative motion, formation flying, and autonomous RPO.
• Develop and validate attitude determination and control systems (ADCS) and orbit determination filters.
• Model and simulate orbital dynamics, spacecraft trajectories, and environmental disturbances.
• Perform state estimation and sensor fusion using IMUs, GPS, star trackers, LiDAR, and optical navigation sensors.
• Integrate GNC algorithms into embedded flight software (C/C++ and Python) and test in HIL and flight-like environments.
• Conduct Monte Carlo analysis and performance verification under uncertainty and failure scenarios.
• Collaborate with systems, avionics, and autonomy teams to deliver mission-ready architectures.

Skills

GNC engineering

Kalman filtering

State estimation

C/C++

Python

MATLAB/Simulink

Education

B.S./M.S. in Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

HIL environments

Embedded flight software

Job description

Fortastra is seeking a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer to design, implement, and validate flight-critical algorithms for autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations, and formation flying. The role emphasizes state estimation, Kalman filtering, and embedded flight software integration, tested in HIL environments, on-site in Torrance, CA, with TS/SCI eligibility.

Required: 5+ years in spacecraft or autonomous GNC, strong MATLAB/Simulink, Python, and C/C++.