Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) Engineer — Spacecraft / RPO

Job Details:

Senior Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) Engineer – Spacecraft Autonomy

Carson, Ca
$225,000 – $300,000

Build the Brain That Flies the Spacecraft.

We’re looking for an exceptional GNC Engineer to develop the flight-critical algorithms behind the next generation of autonomous spacecraft.

This isn't a role where your work ends in MATLAB.

You'll own GNC technology from simulation through embedded flight software and hardware-in-the-loop testing — ultimately helping autonomous spacecraft rendezvous, maneuver, navigate, and operate safely around other objects in orbit.

If you've taken GNC algorithms beyond simulation and into real flight hardware, we want to talk to you.

What You'll Work On

You'll architect, develop, integrate, and validate GNC systems supporting:

• Autonomous rendezvous & proximity operations (RPO)

• Formation flying and precision orbital maneuvering

• Attitude Determination & Control Systems (ADCS)

• Orbit determination and relative navigation

• State estimation and sensor fusion

• Autonomous trajectory planning and control

• Flight-critical embedded software

You'll work with IMUs, GPS, star trackers, LiDAR, optical navigation sensors, reaction wheels, thrusters, and other spacecraft systems to answer three critical questions:

Where are we? Where do we need to go? How do we get there?

What You'll Be Doing

• Design and tune spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control algorithms

• Develop Kalman filtering, state estimation, and sensor-fusion solutions

• Model orbital dynamics, relative motion, trajectories, and environmental disturbances

• Develop GNC for autonomous RPO and formation flying

• Design and validate ADCS and orbit-determination systems

• Transition algorithms from MATLAB/Simulink and Python into embedded C/C++ flight software

• Integrate and test algorithms in HIL and flight-like environments

• Develop 6DOF simulations and conduct Monte Carlo analysis

• Validate performance under uncertainty, degraded sensors, and failure scenarios

• Work directly with systems, avionics, software, and autonomy engineers

• Own your work from initial concept through mission-ready implementation

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of GNC experience involving spacecraft, launch vehicles, missiles, autonomous vehicles, or similar high-performance systems

• B.S. or M.S. in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline

• Strong background in control theory, orbital mechanics, and state estimation

• Experience with Kalman filtering, EKF/UKF, sensor fusion, or orbit determination

• MATLAB/Simulink and Python proficiency

• C/C++ experience

• Experience with HIL, embedded flight software, or flight-like testing

• Strong understanding of spacecraft dynamics and control

The Experience That Will Really Get Our Attention

You've taken an algorithm off the whiteboard, proved it in simulation, implemented it in flight software, tested it against hardware — and ideally watched it perform in an operational environment.

Experience with any of the following is especially valuable:

RPO • Rendezvous • Proximity Operations • Formation Flying • ADCS • Astrodynamics • Optical Navigation • LiDAR • Star Trackers • Reaction Wheels • 6DOF • HIL • Monte Carlo • LQR • MPC • Quaternions • STK • GMAT • FreeFlyer • Basilisk

Why This Opportunity?

You'll join a small, high-impact engineering organization developing autonomous spacecraft technology for national security missions.

You won't own one tiny piece of a massive program.

You'll have meaningful technical ownership across the lifecycle — architecture, algorithms, simulation, software integration, hardware testing, and ultimately flight.

The compensation reflects the caliber of engineer we're looking for:

$220,000 – $300,000

Important Requirements

This position is 100% on-site in Carson, California. Remote and hybrid arrangements are not available.

Candidates must be U.S. Citizens and must have or be capable of obtaining a TS/SCI security clearance .

Interested?

If you're a GNC engineer who wants to build autonomous spacecraft instead of spending your career watching simulations run, let's talk.

Please send your resume to View email address on libertyjobs.com

Chuck LaBenski
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Keywords

Guidance Navigation Control, GNC Engineer, GN&C Engineer, Spacecraft GNC, Senior GNC Engineer, Staff GNC Engineer, Flight Dynamics Engineer, ADCS Engineer, Attitude Determination and Control, Controls Engineer, Estimation Engineer, Astrodynamics Engineer, Navigation Engineer, Spacecraft Engineer, RPO, Rendezvous Proximity Operations, Formation Flying, Orbital Mechanics, Orbit Determination, State Estimation, Sensor Fusion, Kalman Filter, EKF, UKF, MATLAB, Simulink, Python, C++, Embedded Flight Software, Hardware-in-the-Loop, HIL, 6DOF, Monte Carlo, Star Tracker, LiDAR, Optical Navigation, Reaction Wheels, LQR, MPC, STK, GMAT, FreeFlyer, Basilisk, TS/SCI, Aerospace, Space Systems

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