Senior Spacecraft GNC Engineer – Real-Time Flight Software

Firefly Aerospace; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Parental leave

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace in Austin, Texas, seeks a Spacecraft GNC Engineer to design, analyze, and operate GNC systems for flight spacecraft. You will develop GNC flight and simulation software, perform analyses, and support mission operations while expanding core GNC skills toward a senior role.

The position provides hands-on work with attitude determination, onboard navigation, sensor/actuator modeling, and real-time mission operations across multiple spacecraft, driving ownership of key tools and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, physics, mathematics or related field.
• 4–8 years of professional experience in spacecraft GNC or related discipline.
• Advanced knowledge of orbital mechanics, dynamics, state estimation, attitude dynamics and sensor modeling.
• Experience with high-fidelity sensor/actuator models and embedded real-time software.
• Proficiency with Python for scripting and data analysis; C++ for real-time applications.
• Software engineering practices including version control, code review, testing and CI/CD.
• Experience with Linux development environments and RTOS; exposure to spaceflight operations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate GNC software to ensure successful spacecraft mission execution.
• Tune and configure GNC algorithms for all phases of spacecraft flight.
• Perform 6DOF simulation analysis of nominal and dispersed flight profiles.
• Develop and maintain simulation models for sensors, actuators, and environmental effects.
• Create tools to automate workflows, process simulation and flight data, and generate technical reports.
• Conduct stability analysis, sensitivity studies, and hardware-in-the-loop testing of GNC under nominal and off-nominal conditions.
• Interface with cross-discipline teams to integrate GNC software with spacecraft hardware.
• Serve as a GNC console operator for spacecraft operations and perform post-mission analysis to improve spacecraft models.
• Author technical documentation and analysis reports that communicate GNC concepts and results to diverse audiences.
• Build proficiency across core GNC competencies while contributing to continuous improvement of GNC processes and tools.

Skills

GNC

Python scripting

C++ for real-time/flight-critical

Linux development

CI/CD workflows

Hardware-in-the-loop testing

State estimation

Trajectory/orbital mechanics

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering or related field

MS/PhD with focus on GNC

Tools

Python

C++

Git

Linux

Job description

Firefly Aerospace in Austin, Texas, seeks a Spacecraft GNC Engineer to design, analyze, and operate GNC systems for flight spacecraft. You will develop GNC flight and simulation software, perform analyses, and support mission operations while expanding core GNC skills toward a senior role.

The position provides hands-on work with attitude determination, onboard navigation, sensor/actuator modeling, and real-time mission operations across multiple spacecraft, driving ownership of key tools and