Senior Spacecraft GNC Engineer – Real-Time Flight Systems

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Sabbatical

Insurance

Mental health

Military leave

Maternity leave

Spouse leave

Family planning funds

Dog friendly

Education reimbursement

Stock options

401(k) match

Home purchase bonus

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is seeking a Spacecraft GNC Engineer to design, analyze, and operate the GNC systems of operational spacecraft. You will develop GNC flight and simulation software, perform analyses, and support mission operations across multiple spacecraft.

This role offers hands-on experience with attitude determination and control, sensor and actuator modeling, real-time operations, and opportunities to grow toward a senior GNC position.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, physics, mathematics, computer science, or related field.
• Advanced knowledge of spacecraft orbital mechanics, dynamics, state estimation, attitude dynamics, and sensor modeling.
• Experience with high-fidelity sensor and actuator models and embedded software in space systems.

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 for mission-critical systems.
• 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.
• Author technical documentation and analysis reports communicating GNC concepts and results.

Skills

Spacecraft GNC

Python scripting

Real-time systems

Embedded systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, physics, math, CS

Master's or PhD degree (preferred) in related field

Tools

C++

Python

Linux

CI/CD

Job description

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is seeking a Spacecraft GNC Engineer to design, analyze, and operate the GNC systems of operational spacecraft. You will develop GNC flight and simulation software, perform analyses, and support mission operations across multiple spacecraft.

This role offers hands-on experience with attitude determination and control, sensor and actuator modeling, real-time operations, and opportunities to grow toward a senior GNC position.