Principal Spacecraft GNC Engineer, Controls

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock bonuses

401(k) matching

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is seeking a Principal Spacecraft GNC Engineer (Controls) to design and implement advanced control systems for spacecraft attitude control, develop real-time flight software, and mentor junior engineers.

You will work on control algorithms for pointing accuracy, orbital maneuvers, and landing, while coordinating with cross‑discipline teams in a fast-paced spaceflight environment. The role requires extensive experience in ADCS, C++ for mission-critical applications, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or related field.
• Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical direction on spacecraft control architectures.
• Design, analyze, and tune attitude control software for pointing accuracy across mission phases.
• Develop control laws for orbital maneuvers and descent/landing.
• Model complex dynamics including flex modes and propellant slosh.
• Lead hardware-in-the-loop testing and validate flight software.

Skills

ADCS

Attitude control

C++

Real-time software

Python scripting

Git

RTOS

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor's degree (Aerospace/Mech/ECE/CS)

Master's or PhD (preferred)

Tools

Git

RTOS

Job description

At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands-on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.

Twenty-five years later, we remember the lives ...

Our Values

Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.

Passion

Accountability

Fireflies act with integrity and take ownership of our actions, commitments, decisions, and outcomes.

Fireflies work in alignment across teams and communicate clearly with mutual respect for one another.

Fireflies deliver high-quality work through technical rigor and timely disciplined execution for our customers.

We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.

Space for You

• Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
• 3-month sabbatical for every 5 years of service
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
• Mental health services
• Paid military leave

Space for Your Family

• 12 weeks paid maternity leave
• 4 weeks paid spouse leave
• $20k towards family planning: fertility, surrogacy, adoption
• Dog friendly workplace
  • $10k/year towards trade school or college
  • Ongoing coaching to advance leadership skills

Space for Your Future

• Employee-ownership with stock bonuses
• 4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching
• $10k bonus for home purchase in Cedar Park, Texas

Job Openings

From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.

Principal Spacecraft GNC Engineer, Controls

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

As a Principal Spacecraft GNC Engineer specializing in controls and autonomy at Firefly, you will design and implement advanced control systems and autonomous flight software for operational spacecraft. In this role, you will develop and tune attitude control software, support hardware-in-the-loop testing and system integration, and provide technical leadership while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. This position combines advanced control theory, real-time embedded systems development, and hands-on flight operations support while mentoring junior engineers in a fast-paced operational environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide technical direction on system architecture and serve as subject matter expert for spacecraft control
• Design, analyze, and tune spacecraft attitude control software to ensure accurate pointing across all mission phases
• Own design and implementation of control laws for orbital maneuvering and descent and landing
• Develop control systems accounting for complex spacecraft dynamics including structural flex modes, propellant slosh, gimbal dynamics, and control structure interaction
• Establish technical standards and validation methodologies for control system design, software development, and hardware-in-the-loop testing
• Conduct stability analysis, sensitivity studies, and performance optimization for control systems under nominal and off-nominal conditions
• Support hardware-in-the-loop test campaigns for integrated ADCS systems including control algorithm validation, flight software verification, and system-level performance testing
• Drive resolution of complex ADCS challenges requiring deep technical expertise and rapid problem-solving
• Mentor junior engineers in control theory and flight software development
• Interface with cross-discipline teams to integrate control software with spacecraft hardware
• Serve as an ADCS console operator for spacecraft operations and perform post-mission analysis to improve spacecraft models
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives for ADCS processes, tools, and operational efficiency

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or related field
• 8-12 years of experience in spacecraft ADCS systems with significant depth in attitude control system design or flight software development
• Advanced knowledge of attitude dynamics and control theory, including rotational dynamics, attitude representations, control moment generation, and stability analysis
• Strong understanding of classical control theory and frequency domain analysis techniques
• Proficiency in thrust vector control design and interaction with the greater GNC subsystem
• Expertise in real-time software development using C++ for mission-critical applications
• Experience developing high-fidelity actuator models and attitude control system testbeds
• Proficiency in hardware-in-the-loop testing and requirement verification for mission-critical systems
• Understanding of software development best practices including version control (Git), code documentation, and testing
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, or related field
• Experience architecting and implementing control systems for operational spacecraft from development through mission operations
• Expertise in advanced control techniques such as nonlinear control methods, optimal control, model predictive control, or adaptive control applied to spacecraft applications
• Advanced knowledge of state estimation techniques including Kalman filtering
• Advanced knowledge of numerical methods for control law tuning, root-solving, and parameter optimization
• Experience with modern flight software frameworks and real-time operating systems
• Software engineering expertise with proficiency in development practices including version control, code review, testing, documentation, and CI/CD workflows
• Proficiency in Python for scripting, data analysis, and automation
• Working knowledge of spacecraft systems and mission operations
• Proven ability to develop junior engineers while managing technical responsibilities
• Track record of thought leadership through publications, presentations, or contributions to industry state-of-the-art

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status