GNC Engineer, Simulation (Swarm/Vehicle)

Rendezvous Robotics • Golden, CO

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Rendezvous Robotics is developing a novel solution for building larger and more capable spacecraft by using electromagnetic self-assembling tiles. These modular components can rendezvous, dock, and latch together to create spacecraft beyond the limitations of current rocket fairings. The company is seeking a GNC Engineer, Simulation (Swarm/Vehicle) to manage the entire lifecycle of the hardware-out-of-the-loop (HOOTL) simulator, which is critical for verifying GNC claims. This role involves designing and building the HOOTL framework that runs the actual flight software against a high-fidelity physics environment. The engineer will be responsible for proving the system's reliability through correlation and verification, ensuring it meets the subsystem's stringent requirements. This is a unique opportunity to apply expertise in dynamics simulation and real-time software to model electromagnetic docking physics and conduct Monte Carlo and hardware-in-the-loop campaigns. The role requires close collaboration with GNC, embedded software, and hardware teams to ensure simulation results translate to flight performance. The engineer will also extend the simulation framework to encompass the assembled spacecraft, including vehicle-level dynamics, changing inertia of reconfigurable structures, and the space environment. This expanded simulation will support the monolithic vehicle formed after tiles dock and latch.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace/mechanical/electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, or other relevant engineering discipline
• Software development experience in C++ and Python

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in an engineering discipline, computer science, or physics
• 2+ years (Engineer) or 5+ years (Senior Engineer) experience
• Experience developing high-fidelity 6DOF Monte Carlo simulations of aerospace vehicles, including numerical integration (e.g., RK4) and rigid-body contact and constraint dynamics
• Real-time and embedded software development; multi-rate, multi-core systems and deterministic scheduling
• Writing portable C++ that compiles and runs identically on host and on microcontroller targets
• Hardware-in-the-loop and software-in-the-loop test rigs, including sensor and actuator emulation
• Data pipelines, time-series databases, and dashboards (e.g., InfluxDB, Grafana); DDS or similar inter-process/inter-node middleware
• Working fluency in GNC and controls concepts — dynamics, estimation, and feedback control — sufficient to model them faithfully
• Proven ability to develop, test, and deploy software for real-world space/robotic applications, with proficiency in version control systems like Git
• Capable of identifying and solving complex problems with little to no supervision or direction in a fast-paced, start-up environment
• Passionate about solving hard problems, building things, and advancing the space industry
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Responsibilities

• Develop highly reliable, performant simulation infrastructure, physics models, tools, and dashboards in C++ and Python
• Build and own the hardware-out-of-the-loop (HOOTL) framework that runs the actual flight software — partitioned exactly as it runs on the tile's distributed, multi-rate compute — against a high-fidelity physics world
• Implement the physics truth model (numerical integration, electromagnetic forces and torques, contact, and constraints) and the lower-fidelity onboard models, with a verified, force-continuous fidelity switch between them
• Develop models of the tile sensor and actuator suite consistent with the GNC physics models
• Emulate the distributed, multi-rate node graph and its inter-node transports so every discrete element advances on its own clock (no over-accumulation), and guarantee that the same flight C++ object runs identically in simulation and on target
• Build Monte Carlo and scenario campaign tooling — configuration, scheduling, logging — and per-node telemetry and observability (time-series database → data visualization)
• Run the regression and verification campaigns that gate every control and navigation claim, and integrate subsystem models with analysis and embedded-software teams through design and code reviews
• Support flight operations by maintaining sim-to-flight correlation and reproducing on-orbit behavior for anomaly investigation
• Extend the framework to the assembled spacecraft — vehicle-level dynamics, the changing inertia of a reconfiguring structure, and the absolute space environment

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
• Short- and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• 3 weeks of paid vacation
• 10 or more paid holidays per year
• Long-term incentives in the form of stock options

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level