GNC Engineer II: Launch Vehicle Guidance & Control

Cedarparktexasedc; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace in Texas is seeking a GNC Engineer II to design, analyze, and operate GNC systems for launch vehicles, developing GNC software and simulations, and supporting mission operations in a fast-paced environment.

You will gain hands-on experience with ascent guidance, attitude control, and real-time flight operations, while advancing core GNC competencies toward a senior role at Firefly.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or related field.
• 2–5 years of professional experience in aerospace guidance, navigation, and control or related discipline.
• Understanding of launch vehicle flight mechanics and attitude dynamics.
• Familiarity with numerical simulation techniques, integration methods, and modeling of dynamic systems.
• Experience with Python for scripting, data analysis, and visualization.
• Familiarity with C++ for real-time or flight-critical applications.
• Understanding of software development best practices including version control (Git), code documentation, and testing.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate GNC software to ensure successful launch vehicle mission execution.
• Tune and configure attitude determination and control algorithms for all flight phases.
• Perform 6DOF dynamic analysis of ascent trajectories.
• Develop and maintain simulation models for sensors, actuators, and environmental effects.
• Create tools to automate workflows, process flight data, and generate technical reports.
• Interface with cross-disciplinary teams to integrate GNC software with vehicle hardware.
• Serve as a GNC console operator for launch operations and perform post-flight analysis.

Skills

Communication skills

Flight mechanics knowledge

Numerical simulation

Modeling of dynamic systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering or related field

Tools

Python

C++

Git

Linux

CI/CD

Job description

Firefly Aerospace in Texas is seeking a GNC Engineer II to design, analyze, and operate GNC systems for launch vehicles, developing GNC software and simulations, and supporting mission operations in a fast-paced environment.

You will gain hands-on experience with ascent guidance, attitude control, and real-time flight operations, while advancing core GNC competencies toward a senior role at Firefly.