GNC Intern (Spring 2027)

Rendezvous Robotics • Golden, CO

19h • Onsite

About The Position

As a GNC Intern, you will work on the dynamics and control of a reconfigurable spacecraft assembled from electromagnetically docked tiles. The physics cannot be borrowed wholesale from traditional spacecraft attitude control: docking dynamics are highly nonlinear, and the assembled vehicle's inertia and center of mass change as tiles dock and reconfigure. You will contribute to physics models, control and estimation algorithms, and the simulations that verify them — working alongside the GNC team and seeing your work run against hardware testbeds and eventually on-orbit.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a degree in aerospace/mechanical/electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, or other relevant engineering discipline, with coursework in dynamics and controls
• Working knowledge of Python, C++, or MATLAB/Simulink for simulation and analysis
• Understanding of rigid-body dynamics and basic electromagnetics

Nice To Haves

• Experience with spacecraft attitude determination and control, including at the coursework or CubeSat-team level
• Background in electromagnetic systems
• Familiarity with orbital mechanics and reference frames
• Experience with formation flying, swarm robotics, or multi-body reconfigurable systems
• Familiarity with version control systems like Git
• Passionate about solving hard problems, building things, and advancing the space industry
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Responsibilities

• Develop physics models of electromagnetic docking dynamics
• Support development of control algorithms for rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking
• Work on attitude determination and control for individual tiles and the assembled spacecraft
• Support trade studies and evaluation of the tile sensor suite
• Build simulation tools and dashboards to verify GNC algorithms before hardware testing

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed