Founding GNC Engineer

I’m working with an early-stage space technology startup building autonomous space vehicles for commercial and defense applications.

They’re looking for a Lead GNC Engineer to join at a founding level and take complete ownership of the GNC capability from a blank sheet of paper through simulation, hardware testing and ultimately flight.

This isn’t a role where you’ll inherit a mature GNC stack. You’ll build it.

• Define and build the GNC architecture from the ground up
• Design, implement and validate GNC algorithms for rendezvous, proximity operations and docking (RPOD)
• Develop controls for precision inspection, formation flying and autonomous spacecraft operations
• Define flight and formation strategies across multiple mission profiles
• Own simulation, Monte Carlo analysis and performance validation
• Integrate GNC with flight software, avionics and mission systems
• Help develop hardware-in-the-loop / engineering development environments for rapid testing and iteration
• Lead GNC flight-test campaigns and contribute to flight-readiness decisions
• Build and ultimately lead the GNC team as the company scales

• Demonstrable experience with rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO/RPOD)
• Experience developing and implementing GNC algorithms, not just analysis
• Strong understanding of 6-DOF spacecraft dynamics, navigation, estimation and controls
• Comfortable taking a system from concept and architecture through implementation and testing
• Able to operate with significant autonomy in an early-stage engineering environment
• Ability to obtain or currently hold an active TS/SCI security clearance

This is a genuine founding-level engineering opportunity with significant equity and the chance to define a critical technical capability rather than inherit someone else’s architecture.

You’ll work directly with the founder, have significant influence over technical decisions, and have the opportunity to build the GNC team around you as the company grows.

The team is also designing around rapid, high-frequency hardware testing, creating substantially more opportunities to test and iterate than a traditional spacecraft development cycle.

If you’ve built spacecraft GNC systems, understand RPOD and want to take something from a blank sheet of paper all the way to flight, I’d like to speak with you.