Senior Spacecraft GNC Engineer II
$162,000–$243,000 year
On-siteLong Beach, California, United States
Job Summary
Lead GNC and ADCS development for Rocket Lab's diverse spacecraft fleet, managing the engineering life cycle from concept and algorithm design through subsystem integration, test, and vehicle I&T. Mentor a team responsible for modeling and analysis across LEO, lunar, and interplanetary missions while developing flight software, autonomy tools, and fault detection strategies. Define test processes, execute hardware-in-the-loop simulations, and integrate modern analysis tools with flight software. Collaborate with Systems, Avionics, and Mission Operations teams to plan schedules, manage milestones, and coordinate with partners in Denver and New Zealand. Directly interact with customers to ensure mission success and support internal design reviews.
Required Qualifications
- BS and 8+ years of industry experience in GNC/ADCS
- Prior experience directly interfacing with aerospace customers in the commercial or government sectors
- U.S citizenship
Desired Qualifications
- MS or PhD
- Active Secret or TS Security Clearance
- 2+ years of RPOD design and operations experience
- Experience in Jira planning and workflow
- Prior experiencing mentoring a team of younger engineers
- Hands-on experience with IMU, 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 (not necessarily a spacecraft, not necessarily a whole GNC system)
- Prior experience working multiple projects simultaneously and determining priorities for a team
- Experience with GNC-related Business Development or conceptual design work
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