Spacecraft GNC Engineer II

Career Opportunities with Firefly Aerospace

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Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing.

Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

As a Spacecraft GNC Engineer at Firefly, you will design, analyze, and operate the GNC systems of operational spacecraft. In this role, you will develop GNC flight and simulation software, perform analyses, and support mission operations while continuing to build breadth across core GNC competencies. This position offers hands‑on experience with spacecraft attitude determination and control systems, onboard navigation, sensor and actuator modeling, and real‑time mission operations across multiple spacecraft.

You will deepen your technical capabilities and refine your desired career trajectory, taking ownership of system elements and software tools as you grow toward a senior GNC role at Firefly.

• Develop and validate GNC software to ensure successful spacecraft mission execution
• Tune and configure GNC algorithms for all phases of spacecraft flight
• Perform 6
  
  DOF 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

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or related field
• 2-5 years of professional experience in spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control, or related technical discipline
• Understanding of spacecraft orbital mechanics, spacecraft dynamics, state estimation, attitude dynamics, and sensor modeling
• Familiarity with numerical simulation techniques, integration methods, and modeling of dynamic systems
• Experience with Python for scripting, data analysis, and visualization
• Experience with C++ for real‑time or flight‑critical applications
• Understanding of software development best practices including version control (Git), code documentation, and testing
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Advanced degree (master's or PhD) in aerospace engineering or related field with focus on GNC
• Experience supporting spacecraft GNC across development, integration, and mission operations
• Proficiency in C++ for embedded systems or real‑time applications
• Knowledge of state estimation techniques including Kalman filtering, sensor fusion, and covariance analysis
• Knowledge of…