Senior Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GNC) Engineer Verified today
About Varda
Varda is accelerating commercial space infrastructure development, operating in-house W-Series vehicles for in-orbit pharmaceutical processing and reentry capsules. We design and build spacecraft buses, heat shields, processing payloads, and reentry systems.
The Role
You will own the full life cycle of GNC development at Varda, from design through unit, hardware-in-the-loop, on-vehicle functionality, and flight testing. You will perform system analyses including simulations and Monte Carlo studies to satisfy specifications and drive system-level architectural and business decisions. You will contribute to a sophisticated multi-degree-of-freedom in-house aerospace simulation and test framework, develop and maintain design descriptions and supporting documentation, and see end-to-end execution of the GNC subsystem from initial analysis through vehicle integration, mission planning, flight, and support of on-orbit and reentry operations.
Responsibilities
- ADCS hardware performance specification including sizing of reaction wheels, torque rods, IMU/GPS, and star trackers
- Design and implementation of autonomous satellite attitude control, collision avoidance, orbital rendezvous, burn planning and atmospheric re-entry 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
- Integration and testing of GNC sensors, actuators, and software in hardware-in-the-loop environment
- Design and implementation of ground tooling for automated maneuver responsibility and scheduling
- Monitor on-orbit system performance and troubleshoot as necessary
- Coordinate with other spacecraft operators, 3rd party agencies, and the US government
Basic Qualifications
- B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, physics, or related field
- 5+ proven years of 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++/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
- 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
- Salary range: $169,067 - $216,031 per year
- Long-term incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards
- Leveling and base salary determined by job-related skills, education, experience, and performance
Location and Work
On-site in El Segundo, California.
ITAR Requirements
This role requires US person status (US citizen, US lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) due to access to export-controlled items.