Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GNC) Engineer Verified today
About Varda
Varda accelerates commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable reentry capsules. Varda's W-Series vehicles are built, designed, and operated in-house, including pharmaceutical processing payloads, capsules, C-PICA heat shields, and satellite buses.
The Role
As Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GNC) Engineer, you will own the full life cycle of GNC development, from design through unit, hardware-in-the-loop, on-vehicle functionality, and flight testing. You will perform system analyses including simulations and Monte Carlo to satisfy specifications and drive system-level architectural and business decisions. You will contribute to Varda's aerospace simulation and test framework, develop and maintain design descriptions and supporting documentation, and see end-to-end execution from initial analysis through vehicle integration, mission planning, and flight support of on-orbit and reentry operations.
Responsibilities
- Specify ADCS hardware performance including sizing of reaction wheels, torque rods, IMU/GPS, and star trackers
- Design and implement autonomous satellite attitude control, collision avoidance, orbital rendezvous, burn planning, and atmospheric reentry algorithms
- Perform trajectory design, optimization, and dispersion analysis for space capsule reentry
- Develop 6 degree of freedom vehicle simulation using C++, Python, and MATLAB/Simulink
- Run Monte Carlo analysis to characterize performance of new vehicle and mission capabilities
- Integrate and test GNC sensors, actuators, and software in hardware-in-the-loop environment
- Design and implement ground tooling for fully automated maneuver responsibility and maneuver scheduling
- Monitor on-orbit system performance and troubleshoot as needed
- Coordinate with other spacecraft operators, third party agencies, and the US government
Basic Qualifications
- B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, physics, or related field
- 5+ years of proven experience, or PhD with 3+ years of relevant experience
- Demonstrated knowledge in designing, modeling, testing, and flying aerospace guidance, navigation, and control systems
- Highly adept software and model development skills, particularly in C++ and Python
- Understanding of orbital mechanics, modeling and simulation, and software development
- Experience anchoring and fitting first principles models to test data or high-fidelity external simulations
- Proven system engineering and configuration management skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Master's degree in engineering or physics
- Experience with spacecraft attitude determination and control system design
- Experience with GMAT, POST2, or similar tools
- Understanding of multi-body dynamics, flexible body dynamics, gas dynamics, fluids, and thermodynamics
- Experience developing and verifying physical models for control design, component sizing, and system performance evaluation
- Experience supporting safety critical flight tests or spacecraft
- Ability to continuously manage risk and provide solutions with lean and state of the art software development techniques
Compensation and Location
- Salary range: $169,067 to $216,031 per year
- On-site in El Segundo, California
- Leveling and base salary determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance
- Eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards
Requirements
This role requires access to export-controlled items. Varda only hires "US persons" who are permitted access to this technology without an export license. US person means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum).