Senior Spacecraft GNC Engineer — Autonomy & Flight Testing

Varda Space Industries; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 169,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Senior Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GNC) Engineer to own the full lifecycle of GNC development—from design through hardware-in-the-loop, to flight testing. You will run simulations and Monte Carlo analyses to meet specifications and drive system-level decisions.

You will contribute to a sophisticated in-house aerospace framework, develop design descriptions, and support on-orbit and reentry operations, with responsibilities

Qualifications

• B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, physics, or related field.
• 5+ proven years of experience, or PhD with 3+ years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge in designing, modeling, testing, and flying aerospace guidance, navigation, and control systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• ADCS hardware performance specification including sizing of reaction wheels, torque rods, IMU/GPS, and star trackers.
• Design and implementation of autonomous satellite attitude control, collision avoidance, orbital rendezvous, burn planning and atmospheric re-entry algorithms.
• Perform trajectory design, optimization, and dispersion analysis for the reentry of a space capsule.
• Develop 6 degree of freedom vehicle simulation using C++, Python and MATLAB/Simulink.
• Running Monte Carlo analysis to characterize performance of new vehicle and mission capabilities.
• Integration and testing of GNC sensors, actuators, and software in hardware-in-the-loop environment.
• Design and implementation of ground tooling necessary to facilitate fully automated maneuver responsibility and maneuver scheduling decisions.
• Monitoring on-orbit system performance; troubleshooting where necessary.
• Coordination with other spacecraft operators, 3rd party agencies, and the US government.

Skills

Communication skills

Orbital mechanics understanding

C++/Python development

System engineering

Modeling and simulation

Education

B.S. in aerospace/ mechanical/ electrical engineering or physics

PhD with 3+ years experience

Master's degree in engineering or physics

Tools

GMAT

POST2

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Senior Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GNC) Engineer to own the full lifecycle of GNC development—from design through hardware-in-the-loop, to flight testing. You will run simulations and Monte Carlo analyses to meet specifications and drive system-level decisions.

You will contribute to a sophisticated in-house aerospace framework, develop design descriptions, and support on-orbit and reentry operations, with responsibilities