Senior GNC Engineer: Space Mission Design & Trajectories

Rocket Lab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 216,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Healthcare plans

Paid vacation & sick time

11 paid holidays

401(k) with company match

Discounts and other perks

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA, is seeking a Senior GNC Engineer I for Mission Formulation to lead GNC design, modeling, analyses, and testing for launches and missions. You will work with the GLS team and Production to translate concepts into flight-ready systems.

Responsibilities include trades studies, trajectory design, and interface with customers, plus HITL testing and Monte Carlo simulations. Equity, comprehensive benefits, and a clear path to advanced mission responsibilities are offered.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of experience in GNC/ADCS.
• Understanding of orbital mechanics and/or closed-loop control systems, preferably with launch vehicles.
• Experience with trajectory optimization and real-time control/estimation algorithms.
• Active Secret security clearance OR ability to obtain and maintain one.

Responsibilities

• Lead GNC design, modeling, analyses, and testing for launches and missions.
• Conduct trades studies, mission analyses, and definition of detailed designs.
• Develop and release flight code for pre-launch testing and mission operations.
• Support HITL testing to verify trajectories and flight code performance.
• Collaborate with customers and stakeholders; participate in design reviews.

Skills

GNC/ADCS

orbital mechanics

trajectory optimization

real-time control

security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Python

MATLAB

SciPy

Git

POST/ASTOS/TAOS

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA, is seeking a Senior GNC Engineer I for Mission Formulation to lead GNC design, modeling, analyses, and testing for launches and missions. You will work with the GLS team and Production to translate concepts into flight-ready systems.

Responsibilities include trades studies, trajectory design, and interface with customers, plus HITL testing and Monte Carlo simulations. Equity, comprehensive benefits, and a clear path to advanced mission responsibilities are offered.