GNC Generalist

GNC Generalist

Astro Forge is dedicated to making space resources accessible from Earth. We mine asteroids to extract valuable minerals at a lower cost and smaller carbon footprint than terrestrial mining methods. Join us to expand humanity’s capabilities in space.

$ - $ per year

• Design, implement, and test innovative guidance, navigation, control, and perception algorithms in flight software for highly autonomous deep-space missions.
• Develop 6-DOF dynamics simulation models used for GNC systems analysis and validation.
• Push flight software to the edge in Monte Carlo and hardware-in-the-loop testing, contributing fixes and performance improvements.
• Review algorithms and software contributed by GNC and flight software engineers.

• Either a Bachelor's degree in a STEM field with at least 2 years of aerospace or space GNC experience, or a Master’s degree in a STEM field focusing on dynamics and control.
• Experience designing and implementing algorithms for sensor fusion, state estimation, trajectory guidance, and control.
• Strong understanding of dynamics, linear algebra, and 3D rotation math (rotation matrices, quaternions, eigen-decomposition), as well as spacecraft attitude and orbital dynamics.
• Ability to solve complex, novel problems with little to no supervision, both independently and as part of an integrated team.
• Ability to work onsite in Seal Beach, CA.

• Experience operating and/or developing spacecraft.
• Experience with optical navigation.
• Experience with relative dynamics, rendezvous, and proximity operations.
• Experience with IMUs, star trackers, sun sensors, reaction wheels, and other GNC hardware.
• Experience implementing GNC algorithms into robust and reliable flight software.
• Demonstrated experience in a software engineering environment using best practices such as version control, continuous integration, and unit testing.
• Experience working in a startup environment.

• 100% paid medical, dental, and life insurance coverage
• Vision and FSA benefits available
• 3 weeks of PTO + 1 week of sick time
• 10 paid holidays
• Retirement savings plan – 401(k) with company match
• Equity on the ground floor of a startup

• U.S. citizen or national
• U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder)
• Refugee under 8 U.S.C.
• Asylee under 8 U.S.C.
• Eligibility to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Government

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.