GNC Engineer - All Levels

EON • Los Angeles, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

EON is developing a high-throughput point-to-point data transport network in space using free-space laser links in Medium Earth Orbit. The GNC Engineer will contribute to the pointing chain that directs the platform to the required link target and verifies performance in simulation before flight. EON is hiring across platform pointing, acquisition, flight dynamics and navigation, and simulation and performance; engineers may focus on one area or work across disciplines. The role is based onsite at EON’s R&D center in Culver City, California, and spans concept development through first light on a single-route demonstrator.

Depending on concentration, the engineer may design acquisition sequences from ephemeris-based open-loop pointing through search, detection, coarse tracking, and handoff to the Lasercom PAT loop; develop orbit, ephemeris, pointing geometry, and body-pointing error budgets using the bus attitude solution; or build and validate simulation environments covering 6-DOF platform dynamics, relative geometry, sensors, actuators, atmospheric effects, Monte Carlo performance, and hardware-in-the-loop testing. The role involves making and documenting technical decisions with incomplete data, defining interfaces with vendors and optical teams, and validating models against hardware as it arrives.

EON is an early-stage company with no program office or requirements team. The successful candidate will own a distinct part of the pointing chain, drive technical decisions, and work directly with hardware and simulation. The role is hired at levels from Associate through Senior and Principal, with title, scope, and compensation calibrated to experience.

Requirements

• A degree in aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, physics, computer science, or a related technical field.
• Fundamentals across GNC, including attitude determination and control, orbit/ephemeris, and pointing, with enough depth to reason about the pointing chain end to end.
• Programming experience for modeling, analysis, or test using Python, MATLAB/Simulink, or similar.
• Comfort moving quickly and making sound decisions without complete data.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with lasercom, optical pointing, or precision line-of-sight pointing.
• Spacecraft ADCS, orbit determination, or flight-dynamics/ephemeris experience.
• Experience designing acquisition sequences for optical crosslinks or ground-to-space links, including scan strategies and acquisition probability analysis.
• Experience with 6-DOF, Monte Carlo, or hardware-in-the-loop simulation, including frameworks other engineers use to design and validate systems.
• Estimation expertise, including Kalman filtering, sensor fusion, or state estimation.
• Familiarity with astrodynamics and simulation tools such as STK, GMAT, FreeFlyer, or Basilisk.
• Experience working with a bus vendor's attitude solution and interface.

Responsibilities

• Own a distinct part of the pointing chain, from orbit and attitude through acquisition handoff, and carry it from concept through first light.
• Build and defend body-pointing and acquisition error budgets against the system-level link budget.
• Model, simulate, and analyze platform dynamics, geometry, and pointing performance, and validate models against hardware as it arrives.
• Define interfaces with the bus vendor, the Lasercom PAT loop, and the optical seats, and drive trade-offs where pointing and optical performance are tightly coupled.
• Identify high-risk assumptions in the pointing chain early and retire them through simulation, analysis, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Set and defend technical direction with incomplete data, documenting reasoning so the team can build on it.
• Depending on concentration, design platform acquisition sequences, develop flight dynamics and navigation solutions, or build simulation and performance environments.

Benefits

• Company stock options for full-time employees.
• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance, with significant cost covered by the company for employees and dependents.
• Paid parental leave.
• Flexible PTO, including three weeks of accrued vacation and 10 company holidays per year.
• Relocation assistance to Los Angeles available.
• Equipment and lab budget.

What This Job Offers

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