Multi-Disciplinary Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineer

The Aerospace Corporation; El Segundo (CA); Hybrid; USD 151,000 - 227,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player seeks a Senior Engineering Specialist to lead in the areas of guidance, navigation, and control for satellite and launch vehicle programs. This role involves mentoring team members, providing strategic technical guidance, and solving complex engineering challenges. Join a team of innovators dedicated to advancing space technology, where your expertise will shape the future of aerospace systems. Enjoy a hybrid work model that promotes work-life balance while contributing to groundbreaking projects that impact national space programs.

Benefits

Comprehensive health care and wellness plans

Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation

Flexible spending accounts

401(k) Plan with company-paid benefits

Relocation assistance

Professional growth and development programs

Education assistance programs

Telework options

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in engineering with a focus on guidance and control.
• Expertise in spacecraft or launch vehicle systems and dynamics.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance and mentoring in guidance and control.
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams in technical problem-solving.

Skills

Control Systems Engineering

Dynamics

Estimation Theory

Team Leadership

Communication Skills

Problem-Solving

Mentoring

Strategic Thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in a STEM field

Advanced degree in a STEM field

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

Job description

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

Job Summary

The Vehicle Systems Division (VSD) sits at the center of the ideas and data behind current and future systems supplying innovative research and development; technical evaluations during the acquisition process; conceptual and detailed design; assembly, integration, and test; and operational support. Comprised primarily of highly trained mechanical and aerospace engineers, VSD provides national expertise in the areas of vehicle engineering; guidance, navigation, and controls; robotics; electro-mechanical devices; embedded systems; fluid mechanics; propulsion; thermal control; mechanisms; structures; structural dynamics; and dynamic environments.

The Guidance and Control Subdivision (GCS) is looking for a senior level technical leader to provide expertise and strategic guidance in the areas of dynamics, estimation, and control for a wide variety of satellite and launch vehicle programs, including rendezvous and proximity operations, while also researching and applying methods from emerging topics such as artificial intelligence and robotics to solve new and increasingly challenging problems.

As a Multi-Disciplinary Guidance, Navigation & Control (Senior Engineering Specialist-Multi-Disciplinary Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineering), you will work closely with internal and external stakeholders supporting all phases of a program lifecycle: conceptual studies, prototyping, source selection, development, and operations.

Work Model

This is a full-time position based in El Segundo, which will follow a hybrid work model, offering partially remote work as business needs allow.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Providing technical and strategic guidance and mentoring to GCS members.
• Providing expertise in the subdivision core areas of guidance, controls, dynamics, and estimation.
• Exercising technical authority and team leadership in multi-disciplinary areas including, but not limited to concept development, trade studies, risk assessments, design analyses, simulation development, test planning, data analysis, operations support, and anomaly resolution.
• Developing solutions to novel technical problems in controls-related areas.
• Applying technical expertise and analysis to provide advice to customers, management, and contractors.
• Representing GCS interests while collaborating across the corporation on strategic multi-disciplinary teams.
• Developing and fostering partnerships across academia, industry and government.
• Identifying opportunities for additional, expanded, and new technical tasking for members of the subdivision. Assisting management in the pursuit of new opportunities.

What You Need to be Successful

Minimum Requirements for a Senior Engineering Specialist-Multi-Disciplinary Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineering:

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field or equivalent is required.
• Minimum of (12) years of applicable professional or educational experience is required.
• Expertise in one or more of the following: spacecraft or launch vehicle control systems engineering, control system design and analysis, estimation theory, or advanced dynamics is needed for the role.
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or a related language.
• Team or project leadership experience.
• Experience with rendezvous and proximity operations, including relative navigation using Kalman filtering or other estimation techniques.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to coordinate cross-functional teams and engage with external stakeholders.
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities with a focus on innovation and operational excellence.
• Skills in influencing others and aligning team members to a common vision and strategy.
• Experience training and mentoring less experienced technical staff.
• Willingness to travel up to 25% and work outside regular business hours to accommodate customer needs.
• This position requires ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• Advanced degree in a STEM field with a focus on controls, dynamics, estimation, or a related specialty is strongly preferred.
• (15) or more years of relevant technical engineering experience is desirable.
• Experience supporting spacecraft or launch vehicle programs from concept design through launch and beyond.
• Proficiency with multiple of the following:

• Spacecraft or launch vehicle attitude determination and control.
• Payload pointing estimation and control.
• Advanced control techniques and applications.
• Modeling and simulation of control systems.
• Multibody and flexible body dynamics.
• Jitter and line of sight analyses.
• Implementation, testing, deploying, and calibration of control systems.
• Cubesat or smallsat attitude determination and control design and operations.
• Mobile robotics, guidance algorithms, computer vision, image processing, point-cloud analysis.
• Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), unscented Kalman filters (UKFs), particle filters.
• Artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural networks, optimization.
• Medium to large scale simulation or distributed simulation development using modern development practices.
• Flight software validation.
• Guidance, navigation, and control support for enterprise-level analysis of effects chains.

• Familiarity with launch vehicle or satellite attitude control subsystems, relationships to other subsystems, and their impact on mission-level performance.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring and building a product team.
• A current and active TS/SCI security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government is highly preferred. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills.

(Min - Max) $151,300 - $226,900 Pay Basis: Annual

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change
• Engage with Impact
• Foster Innovation
• Deliver Results

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.

Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type. A few highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans.
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation.
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options.
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions.
• Relocation assistance.
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career.
• Education assistance programs.
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect.

We are all unique, from various backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other—the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at [e-mail]. You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal, as well as the Pay Transparency Policy Statement.