Principal GNC Engineer

Principal GNC Engineer | Advanced Space Systems

Manhattan Beach / Los Angeles Area, California

$230,000 – $320,000 + Pre-IPO Equity + Outstanding Benefits

On-Site | Active Top Secret Clearance with SCI Eligibility Required

Take technical ownership of GNC for a new generation of high-performance space vehicles.

Are you a Principal GNC Engineer with deep experience in spacecraft control design and analysis? Do you enjoy solving complex guidance and control problems for highly dynamic space vehicles? Do you want to own GNC architecture from early vehicle development through simulation, flight software and mission operations? If so, this opportunity may be the right next step for you.

This engineering-led organisation is developing advanced space systems for demanding missions where vehicle performance, autonomy and responsiveness are critical. Engineers work in small, multidisciplinary teams with significant technical ownership and the freedom to solve difficult problems without unnecessary layers of bureaucracy. You'll influence vehicle design from the earliest architecture decisions through integration, verification and flight.

The Principal GNC Engineer will provide technical leadership across Guidance, Navigation & Control, influencing vehicle architecture, control algorithms, flight software and mission performance throughout the complete engineering lifecycle.

As the Principal GNC Engineer your responsibilities will include

• Architecting GNC flight, simulation, test and analysis systems for high-performance space vehicles
• Developing robust guidance and control algorithms for complex orbital missions
• Developing GNC flight and simulation software for new algorithms and vehicle capabilities
• Driving GNC requirements through vehicle-level hardware and software design reviews
• Supporting spacecraft integration, verification, mission analysis and flight operations
• Mentoring engineers and establishing technical standards and best practices across GNC

As the Principal GNC Engineer you will bring

• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility
• 12+ years of spacecraft GNC, control design or vehicle dynamics experience
• Strong MATLAB and C++ capability
• Deep understanding of control analysis across time and frequency domains
• Experience developing GNC systems from concept through implementation and operations
• Strong technical leadership and multidisciplinary engineering capability

Experience with high-thrust spacecraft, high-performance orbital vehicles or rapid spacecraft development programmes would be particularly valuable.

The Principal GNC Engineer will become a key technical authority within an advanced spacecraft development programme, solving difficult vehicle-control problems while directly influencing architecture, flight performance and mission capability. Alongside meaningful pre-IPO equity and outstanding benefits, this role offers exceptional technical ownership and the opportunity to help define how the next generation of high-performance space vehicles are designed and operated.

All successful applicants will be contacted within two working days.