GNC Engineer (Optical Systems)

Impulse SpaceRedondo Beach, CA
$125,000 - $155,000Onsite

About The Position

As a Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer (Optical Systems) at Impulse Space, you will own all aspects of and provide outstanding technical contribution to star trackers and optical navigation systems in all phases of development and operation while working closely with a fast paced, agile team.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in engineering discipline
  • 2+ years of experience in image processing and optical analysis
  • Proficiency in Matlab and C++
  • Demonstrated experience with camera systems and fundamentals of attitude determination
  • Experience with sensor noise modeling, photometric calibration, or low-light imaging

Nice To Haves

  • Master’s or PhD in aerospace, electrical, computer science, or related degree
  • Strong mathematical background in Kalman filtering and probability analysis
  • Demonstrated experience in developing star tracker starlight-in-quaternion-out algorithms
  • Experience with ground-based testing of optical systems
  • Experience with computer vision, machine learning, or pattern recognition in imaging systems
  • Experience in a startup or agile development environment
  • Experience in spacecraft GNC fundamentals and vehicle interactions with high-performance optical systems

Responsibilities

  • Implement GNC flight, analysis, and test artifacts for high-performance GNC-adjacent optical systems produced at scale
  • Develop robust identification, attitude resolution, and object detection algorithms for star trackers and other imaging systems
  • Support relative navigation through imaging systems
  • Quantify and verify expected sensor performance via first-principles, simulation, and hardware verification
  • Contribute to vehicle-level attitude determination improvements and analyses
  • Participate in software development, both flight code and simulation
  • Create tools for ground and on-orbit development, alignments, and verification, enabling new iterations and design decisions to be realized quickly
  • Resolve technical issues with innovative, resourceful solutions
  • Communicate design needs, intent, and capability to the broader engineering team
  • For Senior and higher, mentor other engineers and define the best practices for sensor-level design and integration into space vehicles

Benefits

  • stock options
  • medical coverage
  • vision coverage
  • dental coverage
  • 401(k) retirement plan
© 2026 Teal Labs, Inc
Privacy PolicyTerms of Service