Dragon GNC Engineer: Trajectory & Docking Specialist

SpaceX; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) plan

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a GNC Engineer (Dragon) to design, optimize, and implement guidance and navigation algorithms for crewed and cargo Dragon missions. You will drive the full mission cycle from NASA requirements to mission control execution, supporting docking, reentry, and abort systems.

The role emphasizes solving complex problems, delivering reliable guidance, and collaborating across teams to advance human spaceflight.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or physics
• 1+ years of experience with orbital mechanics, classical dynamics, modeling and simulation
• 1+ years of experience with software languages C++ and/or Python

Responsibilities

• Perform trajectory design, optimization, and dispersion analysis for Crew and Cargo Dragon missions
• Implement new software or algorithms to support mission unique capabilities
• Select flight constants and guidance parameters
• Perform post-flight data review and correlation with analyses for continued improvement of predictions
• Manage mission operations support
• Perform analysis to verify compliance with contractual mission requirements including direct customer interface with NASA
• Test flight software and document analysis and test results with a focus on automation and efficiency of reporting

Skills

Orbital mechanics

Problem solving

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or physics

Master’s degree or PhD in physics or engineering

Tools

C++

Python

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a GNC Engineer (Dragon) to design, optimize, and implement guidance and navigation algorithms for crewed and cargo Dragon missions. You will drive the full mission cycle from NASA requirements to mission control execution, supporting docking, reentry, and abort systems.

The role emphasizes solving complex problems, delivering reliable guidance, and collaborating across teams to advance human spaceflight.