SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Reflect Orbital is seeking a Senior GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) Engineer to shape the in-orbit performance of a novel space vehicle. This is a full-stack GNC development role spanning vehicle-level dynamics and control, orbit propagation, flight software, and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testing on avionics systems.
Key responsibilities include:
- Designing and developing closed-loop guidance, navigation, and control systems for both attitude and orbital control
- Planning trajectories and attitude motion profiles to meet spot-serving constraints
- Developing and owning a 6-DOF simulation of vehicle attitude and orbital dynamics, with Monte Carlo performance characterization
- Writing GNC algorithms in flight software (C++/Rust) and validating them using avionics-in-the-loop testing
- Collaborating with avionics engineers on sensor and actuator selection for reliable attitude determination and control
- Analyzing and planning orbits and constellation design to maximize spot-serving capability
- Solving creative, unique problems specific to precisely reflecting sunlight from space to ground targets
The role emphasizes ownership, fast execution, and the ability to effect meaningful change. You will work on a novel space vehicle with direct impact on its orbital performance.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 5+ years of professional GNC engineering experience, ideally on spacecraft or other dynamically controlled vehicles
- Clear technical ownership of a GNC subsystem that has flown, covering simulation, algorithms, and flight software
- Strong background in modeling physical systems from first principles, including flexible body dynamics, sensors, actuators, and the space environment
- Expertise in state estimation design for attitude and orbit determination, validated in flight
- Ability to verify and validate GNC flight software in an integrated environment using HITL testing
- Experience in guidance, maneuver, and constellation design, including orbit selection, coverage, and station-keeping
- Experience in real-time spacecraft operations support, from commissioning through console operations to on-orbit anomaly resolution
- Fluency in Python, C++, and/or Rust
Note: The company welcomes applications from candidates who don't meet 100% of qualifications and is interested in exceptional individuals with unconventional backgrounds.
