Senior GNC Engineer – Spacecraft

Who We Are:

Eras of humanity can often be defined by a dominate transportation mode – horse drawn chariots, ocean going boats, or aircraft. These were spurred by a small group of people rigorously focused on building technology to achieve faster access to more of the world.  We seek to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth. To do this, we are building highly maneuverable re-entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth.     

What You’ll Do: 

Inversion’s reentry vehicles are the first satellite platform capable of returning to Earth. As a Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer, you will focus on architecting and developing Arc’s in-space attitude determination and control capabilities. You will work alongside our avionics, mission design, software, and vehicle engineering teams to determine spacecraft pointing and orbit requirements as well as develop the GNC system. In this role, you will: 

• Work with other disciplines to determine Arc’s on-orbit power, communications, thermal, and station-keeping requirements and feasibility. 
• Architect vehicle’s sensor and actuator selection and placement in addition to vehicle’s core pointing modes.  
• Design and implement guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) algorithms for satellite deployment and operations. 
• Perform orbital mechanics analyses to trade constellations and trajectories. 
• Collaborate closely with avionics teams for component integration and calibration. 
• Explore mission design concepts for orbital deltaV maneuvers. 
• Lead technical discussions and contribute to the overall mission architecture for satellite deployment and operation. 
• Operate with significant autonomy. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, or a relevant field, or equivalent experience in a relevant field. 
• Typically, will have 6+ years of experience for a Senior level and 10+ for a Principal level role. We are open to considering multiple levels for the role.  
• Experience doing systems engineering for attitude, determination, and control systems (including requirements definition, system trades, etc.) 
• Experience with a LEO spacecraft program from conception to operation.  
• Strong fundamental understanding of spacecraft dynamics and orbital mechanics 
• Experience with component calibration and alignment as well as vehicle level integration and test practices. 
• Experience with spacecraft estimation and control algorithms. 
• Proficiency in programming languages such as MATLAB, Python, or C++ for simulation and analysis. 
• Ability to think creatively to optimize systems and solve complex problems. 

Desired Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree or PhD in GNC or relevant field. 
• Familiarity with on-orbit operations. 
• Familiarity with fault management practices. 
• Experience with CI/CD practices. 
• Experience architecting a GNC system from a systems level. 
• Experience with mission analysis and design. 

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $140,000-$220,000.  Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.  

• Our office headquarters is located in Torrance, CA. This position requires in office presence full time