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Rocket Lab is seeking a Spacecraft GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) Engineer to join its Space Systems team in Littleton, CO. This role is responsible for leading GNC and ADCS (Attitude Determination and Control System) development across Rocket Lab's growing fleet of diverse spacecraft. You will work across the full engineering lifecycle: spacecraft concept and algorithm development, flight software implementation, subsystem requirements, detailed GNC design, integration and test, and vehicle-level testing.
Key responsibilities include designing flight software and algorithms, developing spacecraft autonomy tools for constellation management, selecting GNC components and designing subsystems, developing and executing test processes, defining fault detection and response strategies, conducting hardware-in-the-loop and Monte Carlo simulations, and integrating flight and simulation software with modern analysis and operations tools. You will support design reviews, coordinate with department leads and program managers on scheduling and milestones, and work with teams across Long Beach, CA and New Zealand.
For the Engineer I level: BS degree and direct experience with GNC/ADCS, plus prior customer-facing experience in commercial or government aerospace sectors. For Engineer II: BS degree with 2+ years of industry GNC/ADCS experience and aerospace customer interface background. U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.
Desirable qualifications include MS/PhD, active DoD Secret clearance or clearance eligibility, RPOD design and operations experience, hands-on GNC hardware experience (IMU, reaction wheels, star trackers), flight software development and verification, on-orbit operations and anomaly resolution, team leadership experience, and multi-project management capability. Rocket Lab has enabled over 1,700 missions including interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing, and national security initiatives for NASA, Space Development Agency, and U.S. Space Force.
