Senior Controls Engineer, Optical Beam Pointing

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

44d

About The Position

As a Senior Controls Engineer within the Interplanetary Sciences Program, you will be the technical lead for optical beam pointing and control systems that enable high-precision optical communications for our 2028 Mars Orbiter mission. You will design, develop, and implement the control algorithms that measure the subsystem orientation using advanced sensor fusion and actively steer both spacecraft attitude and beam orientation to maintain precision optical links across interplanetary distances. This role requires end-to-end technical ownership of a mission-critical control system that integrates optical sensors, gyroscopic measurements, spacecraft attitude control, and fast steering mirror systems. You will develop engineering methods, control architectures, and flight-ready algorithms that enable the spacecraft to acquire, track, and maintain optical beam pointing while rejecting spacecraft jitter and environmental disturbances. You will work across communications, GNC, flight software, and spacecraft systems teams to ensure the optical beam pointing system meets performance requirements from design through prototyping, ground testing, launch, cruise, and orbital operations at Mars.

Requirements

An undergraduate or graduate degree (BS/MS/PhD) in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Control Systems, Physics, or a similar technical discipline with 3+ years of related experience
Strong background in control systems design and implementation, including classical and modern control theory, state-space methods, and nonlinear control
Experience with spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control systems for launch vehicles, satellites, or other aerospace applications
Experience developing sensor fusion and state estimation algorithms, including Kalman filtering, observer design, or similar techniques
Strong software development skills in at least one high-level language (e.g. C++, Rust) and at least one scripting language (e.g. Python, Matlab)
Ability to work in a fast-paced startup environment with a high degree of autonomy and independence
Ability to complete projects with ownership of end-to-end solutions and deliver results on schedule
Ability to work across disciplines and clearly communicate technical decisions, requirements, and tradeoffs to engineering stakeholders

Nice To Haves

A graduate degree (MS/PhD) in engineering or physics
Prior work in a technical leadership role for spacecraft or satellite development
Experience with image processing algorithms and photon counting detector systems
Experience developing or implementing flight software for real-time control systems
Experience with fast steering mirror systems, fine pointing mechanisms, or other precision actuation systems
Experience with gyroscopic sensors, IMUs, and inertial measurement processing for spacecraft applications
Familiarity with spacecraft attitude determination and control systems (ADCS)
Experience with modeling and simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink for control system development
Prior work in a startup or agile development environment
Experience supporting spacecraft prototyping, ground testing, integration, or flight operations
Familiarity with deep-space or interplanetary mission operations
Experience with optical communications, laser pointing and tracking systems, or gimballed RF antenna pointing systems
Experience working with software developers to define requirements and architectures for flight-critical control systems

Responsibilities

Own the design, development, and implementation of optical beam pointing and control algorithms for the 2028 Mars Orbiter mission.
Develop control systems that integrate optical sensor measurements, gyroscopic data, and spacecraft attitude estimates to achieve precision beam pointing and tracking.
Design and implement fast steering mirror control algorithms that reject spacecraft jitter and maintain optical link performance during dynamic conditions.
Develop sensor fusion and state estimation algorithms that combine beacon position measurements with inertial sensing to enable robust pointing control.
Define requirements, interfaces, and verification methods for optical beam pointing performance, including acquisition, tracking, and pointing stability metrics.
Develop and maintain control system models, simulation environments, and analysis tools to predict and verify system performance.
Work with flight software developers to define software requirements, architectures, and interfaces for control algorithm implementation.
Support prototyping and ground testing of optical beam pointing systems, including hardware-in-the-loop testing and system-level verification.
Serve as technical authority for optical beam pointing and control, working across communications, GNC, spacecraft systems, and flight software teams.
Support flight operations during commissioning and on-orbit operations, including performance analysis and anomaly resolution.