Spacecraft GNC Engineer II — Attitude & Navigation

Firefly Aerospace; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental & vision plans

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace in Austin, Texas is seeking a Spacecraft GNC Engineer to design, analyze, and operate GNC systems for active spacecraft. You will develop flight software, run simulations, and support mission operations while expanding core GNC competencies and taking ownership of system elements.

The role offers hands‑on experience with attitude determination, onboard navigation, sensor and actuator modeling, and real‑time operations across multiple spacecraft.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or higher in a relevant engineering/science field.
• 2–5 years in spacecraft guidance, navigation and control or related tech.
• Strong knowledge of orbital mechanics, state estimation and attitude dynamics.
• Experience with Python for scripting and data analysis.
• C++ for real‑time or flight‑critical applications.

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate GNC software for spacecraft missions.
• Tune GNC algorithms for all flight phases.
• Perform 6DOF simulation analysis of nominal and dispersed profiles.
• Develop and maintain models for sensors and actuators.
• Create tools to automate workflows and generate technical reports.
• Interface with cross-discipline teams to integrate GNC with hardware.
• Act as GNC console operator during spacecraft operations.

Skills

Python scripting

C++ embedded

Git version control

Linux development

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering

Master's or PhD in related field (GNC focus)

Tools

Git

Linux tooling

Job description

Firefly Aerospace in Austin, Texas is seeking a Spacecraft GNC Engineer to design, analyze, and operate GNC systems for active spacecraft. You will develop flight software, run simulations, and support mission operations while expanding core GNC competencies and taking ownership of system elements.

The role offers hands‑on experience with attitude determination, onboard navigation, sensor and actuator modeling, and real‑time operations across multiple spacecraft.