GNC Engineer II: Mission Formulation & Trajectory

Rocket Lab; Littleton (CO); On-site; USD 115,000 - 144,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

401(k) retirement plan

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Paid vacation/holidays/sick leave

Employee stock purchase program

Job summary

Rocket Lab, a leader in small-lift space launch and mission systems, seeks a GNC Engineer II focused on mission formulation. Based at Rocket Lab’s U.S. operations, you will design, analyze, and validate guidance, navigation, and control systems for launches and missions.

You will work with cross‑functional teams to define requirements and deliver robust trajectories for mission success. Responsibilities include concept development, simulations, and collaboration with customers on mission

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and 2+ years in GNC/ADCS.
• Knowledge of orbital mechanics and closed-loop control systems, ideally for launch vehicles.
• Experience with trajectory optimization.
• Proven ability to develop real-time control/estimation algorithms for autonomous vehicles.
• Active Secret clearance or ability to obtain one.

Responsibilities

• Serve as GNC contact to Business Development for proposals and mission definition.
• Develop launch and mission concepts; perform trajectory design and analysis.
• Collaborate on orbital/suborbital mission studies and requirements engineering.
• Document GNC solutions; participate in design reviews with customers.
• Support HITL testing and Monte Carlo simulations; release flight code.
• Create tools and processes to automate GNC analyses.

Skills

Orbital mechanics

Closed-loop control

Trajectory optimization

Real-time control/estimation

Security clearance (Secret)

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Git

Python

MATLAB

SciPy

C/C++

ASTOS

Job description

Rocket Lab, a leader in small-lift space launch and mission systems, seeks a GNC Engineer II focused on mission formulation. Based at Rocket Lab’s U.S. operations, you will design, analyze, and validate guidance, navigation, and control systems for launches and missions.

You will work with cross‑functional teams to define requirements and deliver robust trajectories for mission success. Responsibilities include concept development, simulations, and collaboration with customers on mission