Principal Spacecraft GNC Architect for Autonomous Flight

Quantum Space; Rockville (MD); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Quantum Space is seeking a Principal Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineer in Rockville, MD to serve as the technical authority for the GNC subsystem across programs, leading architecture, design, procurement, integration, and verification.

You will own GNC architecture, requirements, and the attitude control system, define control laws for high-ΔV maneuvers, develop state estimation pipelines, and mentor a team of GNC engineers for robust on-orbit performance.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of spacecraft GNC/ACS development and full lifecycle flight programs.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end GNC/ACS architecture from concept development through flight operations.
• Lead spacecraft attitude and control system design, including actuator sizing and sensor selection.
• Define and implement control laws for high-ΔV maneuvering, precision pointing, and proximity operations.
• Architect state estimation frameworks (EKF/UKF, sensor fusion) for robust on-orbit performance.
• Develop and maintain high-fidelity 6DOF spacecraft simulations for analysis and verification.
• Establish GNC verification and validation strategy across analysis, SIL/HIL, hardware integration, and flight test.

Skills

GNC/ACS design

Attitude control

State estimation

Control theory

System-level trade decisions

Leadership

Mentorship

Education

Engineering degree (Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical/Robotics)

Tools

C++

Python

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

Quantum Space is seeking a Principal Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineer in Rockville, MD to serve as the technical authority for the GNC subsystem across programs, leading architecture, design, procurement, integration, and verification.

You will own GNC architecture, requirements, and the attitude control system, define control laws for high-ΔV maneuvers, develop state estimation pipelines, and mentor a team of GNC engineers for robust on-orbit performance.