Senior Spacecraft GNC Engineer I

Rocket Lab•Littleton, CO

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Based at Rocket Lab’s Littleton, Colorado site, the Senior Spacecraft GNC Engineer I leads GNC and ADCS development for a growing fleet of diverse spacecraft. The role applies spacecraft GNC concepts across the engineering life cycle, including spacecraft concept and algorithm development, flight software implementation, subsystem requirements, detailed GNC design, subsystem integration and test, and vehicle integration and test. The engineer plans and maintains development schedules supporting the Space Systems Software organization and works closely with Systems, Avionics, Flight Software, Mission Operations, and Ground Software teams. The position also involves direct customer interaction to support mission success.

Requirements

B.S. degree and at least 5 years of industry experience in GNC/ADCS.
Ability to maintain and obtain a security clearance.
Prior experience directly interfacing with aerospace customers in the commercial or government sectors.
U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.

Nice To Haves

M.S. or Ph.D.
Active TS/SCI clearance.
At least 2 years of RPOD design and operations experience.
Experience with Jira planning and workflow.
Prior experience mentoring a team of younger engineers.
Hands-on experience with IMUs, reaction wheels, star trackers, gyroscopes, and other GNC hardware.
Experience developing blended attitude solutions from a variety of sensor data.
Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and verifying flight software.
Demonstrated experience with spacecraft on-orbit operations and anomaly resolution.
Prior experience leading a team across a project lifecycle.
Prior experience working on multiple projects simultaneously and determining team priorities.
Experience with GNC-related business development or conceptual design work.

Responsibilities

Mentor a team responsible for GNC design, modeling, and analysis across spacecraft and missions including LEO, MEO, GEO, lunar, interplanetary, reentry, and RPOD.
Design flight software, algorithms, and simulation products.
Develop spacecraft autonomy tools for constellation management.
Select GNC components and design GNC subsystems.
Develop and execute test processes.
Define fault detection and response.
Perform hardware-in-the-loop and Monte Carlo simulation.
Integrate flight and simulation software with modern analysis, test, and operations tools.
Support internal and external design reviews.
Work with department leads and program managers to plan and maintain team schedules and milestones, and report technical status.
Coordinate with teams in Long Beach, California, and New Zealand.
Interact directly with aerospace customers to support mission success.