GNC Engineer: Navigation Sensors & Estimation

K2 Space; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical benefits

Job summary

K2 Space seeks a GNC Engineer - Navigation Sensors and Algorithms to own the navigation and sensing chain from physical sensors to estimation software running on the spacecraft. You will collaborate with Avionics, flight software, and Test teams in a hands-on hardware/software role.

In the first 6 months you will design and characterize the software driver for GNSS receivers, validate GNSS performance and link budgets, and feed learnings back into hardware and onboard filter design.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in aerospace, electrical, or mechanical engineering, physics, or a related field
• 2+ years of experience in navigation, estimation, or sensor engineering for spacecraft.
• Strong grasp of estimation theory, with hands-on experience implementing filters for real time systems
• Hands-on experience with navigation hardware in the lab
• Experience with Python, Julia, C/C++, or Rust for algorithm development, implementation, hardware test, and simulation

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and verify onboard estimation algorithms for orbit and attitude determination (EKF/MEKF/UKF, batch estimators, sensor fusion)
• Develop high-altitude GNSS navigation capability for MEO and GEO, including sidelobe and weak-signal tracking, receiver selection, and onboard orbit filtering
• Improve measurement and system timing accuracy from sensor output to GNC ingestion, ensuring low-latency and low-jitter navigation
• Develop and run GNC sensor calibration on the ground and on orbit
• Select, specify, and integrate navigation sensors (GNSS receivers, IMUs, magnetometers, star trackers) in fault tolerant architectures to support robust next generation capabilities
• Build sensor models and estimation components in our simulation framework, and bring algorithms from prototype into production flight software
• Support on‑orbit commissioning and navigation performance analysis during mission operations
• Defining pass/fail performance criteria for GNC hardware during acceptance testing and supporting investigation of out‑of‑spec hardware
• Shape the future of the GNC team by recruiting, interviewing, and mentoring engineers

Skills

Estimation theory

Real-time systems

Hardware in lab

Education

Master’s degree in aerospace, electrical, or mechanical engineering

Tools

Python

Julia

C/C++

Rust

Job description

K2 Space seeks a GNC Engineer - Navigation Sensors and Algorithms to own the navigation and sensing chain from physical sensors to estimation software running on the spacecraft. You will collaborate with Avionics, flight software, and Test teams in a hands-on hardware/software role.

In the first 6 months you will design and characterize the software driver for GNSS receivers, validate GNSS performance and link budgets, and feed learnings back into hardware and onboard filter design.