GNC Engineer

Xona Space Systems • Burlingame, CA

10d

About The Position

Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth. With Pulsar – the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit – Xona will offer a future-proof, backwards-compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection. We’re seeking a GNC Engineer to design, develop, and validate high-fidelity simulations and control algorithms for advanced aerospace systems. This role is ideal for an engineer with strong analytical skills and hands-on experience in guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) who thrives at the intersection of modeling, coding, and flight system development.

Requirements

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Control Systems, Applied Physics, or a related field
• Experience with GNC algorithm development for LEO, GEO, or interplanetary satellite platforms
• Strong understanding of orbital mechanics, rigid body dynamics, and estimation theory
• Demonstrated expertise in Monte Carlo analysis, system identification, and HIL testing
• For U.S. Roles: To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).
• For U.K. Roles: To comply with U.K. regulations, this role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC).
• For Canada Roles: Successful candidates must obtain and hold a security clearance at the reliability status level, and pass security assessment for the Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP) and ITAR.

Nice To Haves

• You have deep experience with spacecraft dynamics and control, including 6DOF simulation environments
• You’ve developed and tested flight control and estimation software for real space/aerial/ground missions
• You’re comfortable building estimators like Kalman filters and validating them with data
• You’re skilled in MATLAB and C++, and experienced working in version-controlled Linux-based environments
• You have a strong understanding of system modeling, identification, and performance analysis
• You thrive in a fast-paced, hands-on engineering environment and enjoy solving hard technical problems

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain 6-DOF attitude and orbit simulations, including modeling of spacecraft dynamics, environmental disturbances, and sensor/actuator behavior
• Perform Monte Carlo analyses to evaluate system performance and robustness
• Design and implement control algorithms (PID, LQR, optimal controllers) and state estimators (Kalman filters)
• Conduct Monte Carlo simulations for performance validation, fault injection, and design robustness
• Conduct system identification and model validation from flight or test data
• Write, test, and optimize algorithms in MATLAB and C++
• Collaborate in a Git-based, Linux development environment alongside multidisciplinary teams

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees