Spacecraft GNC Engineer — Attitude & Navigation Expert

Firefly Aerospace; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Parental leave

Relocation benefits

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace in the Austin area seeks a Spacecraft GNC Engineer to design, analyze and operate GNC systems for mission-critical spacecraft. You will develop flight and simulation software, perform analyses, and support mission operations while broadening core GNC competencies.

This role offers hands-on experience with attitude determination, onboard navigation, sensor/actuator modeling, and real-time operations across multiple vehicles, with paths toward senior GNC responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, physics, math, CS or related field.
• 4–8 years in spacecraft GNC or related discipline.
• Knowledge of orbital mechanics, dynamics, state estimation, attitude dynamics, and sensor modeling.
• Experience modeling sensors/actuators for high-fidelity simulations.
• Python proficiency for scripting, data analysis, and visualization.
• C++ for real-time or flight-critical applications.
• Software engineering practices including version control, code review, testing, and CI/CD.
• Hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing and requirements verification.

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate GNC software for spacecraft missions.
• Tune and configure GNC algorithms for all flight phases.
• 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.
• Interface with cross-disciplinary teams to integrate GNC software with spacecraft hardware.
• Serve as a GNC console operator for spacecraft operations and post-mission analysis.
• Author technical documentation and analysis reports communicating GNC concepts and results.
• Improve GNC processes and tools.

Skills

GNC software development

Python scripting

C++ for real-time/flight

State estimation

Attitude dynamics

Hardware-in-the-loop testing

CI/CD

Data analysis & visualization

Education

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

Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in GNC

Job description

Firefly Aerospace in the Austin area seeks a Spacecraft GNC Engineer to design, analyze and operate GNC systems for mission-critical spacecraft. You will develop flight and simulation software, perform analyses, and support mission operations while broadening core GNC competencies.

This role offers hands-on experience with attitude determination, onboard navigation, sensor/actuator modeling, and real-time operations across multiple vehicles, with paths toward senior GNC responsibilities.