Principal GNC Engineer: Spaceflight Guidance & Control

Outpost; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Outpost

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) company match

Daily lunch stipend

Pet friendly office

9 paid holidays

Job summary

Outpost is hiring a Principal GNC Engineer to own the ADCS chain for precise space landings. You’ll design guidance and estimation architecture, write flight code, run hardware tests and flight campaigns, and leverage data to drive design changes.

You’ll work in a fast-paced, autonomous environment, applying EKF/UKF techniques on modern sensors to enable reliable trajectory control for orbital return vehicles.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related technical discipline with 5+ years as a GNC or Controls professional or Advanced degree with 3+ years as a GNC or Controls professional.
• Software development in C++ and Python.
• Experience with Git, Jira, and CI pipeline.
• Algorithms on real hardware (EKF, LQR).
• Strong dynamics, modeling and simulation, and control knowledge.
• Fast-paced, autonomous work style.
• Passion for space and advanced estimation/control.

Responsibilities

• Modeling, design, analysis, implementation and test of ADCS algorithms.
• Define hardware requirements: reaction wheels, sensors, redundancy, fault management.
• Own ADCS requirements with electrical/mechanical engineers.
• Implement closed-loop pointing, orbit raising, station keeping for flight.
• Analyze platform stability for low jitter on instruments.
• Develop high fidelity satellite simulations in Python, Matlab or C++.
• Develop entry guidance, corridor targeting, and trajectory shaping.
• Implement EKF/UKF with GNSS, IMU, sensors; handle degraded navigation.
• Support flight test campaigns with planning, instrumentation, data reconstruction.
• Collaborate with aerospace leadership to shape future orbital infrastructure.

Skills

GNC engineering

Controls

C++

Python

Git/Jira/CI

Kalman filters

LQR

Dynamics modeling

Autonomy

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related technical discipline

Advanced degree in GNC/Controls

Tools

Git

Jira

CI Pipeline

Job description

Outpost is hiring a Principal GNC Engineer to own the ADCS chain for precise space landings. You’ll design guidance and estimation architecture, write flight code, run hardware tests and flight campaigns, and leverage data to drive design changes.

You’ll work in a fast-paced, autonomous environment, applying EKF/UKF techniques on modern sensors to enable reliable trajectory control for orbital return vehicles.