GNC Engineer III (Navigation), Eclipse
Firefly Aerospace
About the role
GNC Engineer III Navigation Eclipse - Careers At Firefly Aerospace --> - - - - - Career Opportunities with Firefly Aerospace Come be a part of the 21 st Century Space Race! Careers At Firefly Aerospace --> --> Share with friends or Subscribe! Current job opportunities are posted here as they become available.
Subscribe to our RSS feeds to receive instant updates as new positions become available. > --> --> Back To Openings GNC Engineer III (Navigation), Eclipse Department: Aerospace Software Engineering Location: Cedar Park, TX START YOUR APPLICATION ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space � anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing.
Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space. As a Senior GNC Engineer specializing in navigation and estimation at Firefly, you will design and implement navigation systems and state estimation algorithms for operational launch vehicles.
What you'll do
- Design, analyze, and tune launch vehicle navigation software to ensure accurate state estimation from launch to orbit
- Implement advanced filtering techniques using inertial sensor and GNSS measurements
- Develop navigation systems robust to error sources including inertial sensor bias, GNSS signal degradation, noise, and sensor misalignments
- Establish technical standards and validation methodologies for navigation system design, software development, and hardware-in-the-loop testing
- Conduct covariance analysis, sensitivity studies, and performance optimization for navigation systems under nominal and off-nominal flight conditions
- Support hardware-in-the-loop test campaigns for integrated GNC systems including navigation algorithm validation, flight software verification, and system-level performance testing
- Drive resolution of complex GNC challenges requiring deep technical expertise and rapid problem-solving
- Provide technical direction on system architecture and serve as subject matter expert for launch vehicle state estimation
- Mentor junior engineers in estimation theory and flight software development
- Author technical documentation and analysis reports that communicate GNC concepts and results to diverse audiences
- Interface with cross-discipline teams to integrate navigation software with vehicle hardware
- Serve as a GNC console operator for launch operations and perform post-flight analysis to improve vehicle models
What you'll bring
- Required
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or related field
- 5-10 years of experience in launch vehicle GNC systems with significant depth in navigation system design or flight software development
- Advanced knowledge of state estimation techniques including Kalman filtering, sensor fusion, and covariance analysis
- Strong understanding of inertial navigation systems, GNSS processing, and navigation sensor error modeling
- Expertise in real-time software development using C++ for flight-critical applications
- Experience developing high-fidelity sensor models and navigation system testbeds
- Proficiency in hardware-in-the-loop testing and requirement verification for flight-critical systems
- Understanding of software development best practices including version control (Git), code documentation, and testing
- Excellent communication and presentation skills Desired
Benefits
- for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.
- Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.
- citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.
- , protected individual as defined by 8 U.
- 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.
About the employer
Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and
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