Senior GNC Engineer

Job Description:

Senior GNC EngineerSan Francisco, CA | Onsite | Satellite Systems A venture-backed aerospace company is building a next-generation satellite navigation system and is hiring a GNC Engineer to support spacecraft autonomy and orbital control. Their platform is designed to deliver high-precision, secure navigation services from low Earth orbit and is intended to operate independently of legacy systems. This role sits on a small, senior GNC team responsible for designing and integrating the estimation, control, and state logic that runs onboard their spacecraft. You’ll be working across the full development cycle, from early modeling to flight software integration and on-orbit validation. Strong coding skills and real-world control systems experience are key. They’re not looking for entry-level candidates. The team needs someone with 4–5+ years of experience, ideally with direct contributions to orbital guidance or control systems. A background in both open-loop and closed-loop control architectures is essential, along with proficiency in C++ and MATLAB. What you’ll be doing Building and integrating real-time GNC software for small satellitesDeveloping estimators, controllers, and autonomous state machinesDesigning fault detection and recovery logic for flight systemsCreating and maintaining interfaces between GNC and core flight softwareRunning full-cycle validation using SIL and HIL environmentsWriting and maintaining unit and regression test suitesWorking closely with simulation, embedded software, and hardware teams You’ll need 4–5+ years of hands-on experience in GNC for space, aviation, or autonomous systemsExperience with orbital mechanics, navigation, and controlStrong coding ability in C++, MATLAB, and PythonFamiliarity with real-time systems and embedded flight softwareBackground working in Linux and Git-based environmentsBachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or related engineeringUS citizenship Bonus experience Master’s or PhD in a relevant technical disciplineExperience with SIL/HIL testing and model-based designBackground in autonomous systems or roboticsExperience building infrastructure for safety-critical testing Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.