Senior Spacecraft GNC Engineer — Lead Space Autonomy & Reentry

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

Job summary

Varda Space Industries, Inc. seeks a Senior Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer to own the full life cycle of GNC development—from design to hardware-in-the-loop testing and flight support.

You will run system analyses, Monte Carlo simulations, and drive architectural decisions for Varda’s in‑house spacecraft framework. You will contribute to end-to-end GNC execution, integrate sensors and actuators, and coordinate with external partners and US government teams to ensure

Qualifications

• B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, physics, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience or PhD with 3+ years in GNC.
• Strong knowledge of designing, modeling, testing, and flying aerospace GNC systems.
• Proficient in C++/Python and model development.

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

C++/Python

Orbital mechanics

Systems engineering

Model development

Communication

Education

B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, physics, or related field

Master's degree in engineering or physics

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

GMAT/POST2

Job description

Varda Space Industries, Inc. seeks a Senior Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer to own the full life cycle of GNC development—from design to hardware-in-the-loop testing and flight support.

You will run system analyses, Monte Carlo simulations, and drive architectural decisions for Varda’s in‑house spacecraft framework. You will contribute to end-to-end GNC execution, integrate sensors and actuators, and coordinate with external partners and US government teams to ensure