Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Engineer (GNC)

Location: On-site in El Segundo, California, United States. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States and qualify as a U.S. person for access to export-controlled technology.

Salary: $169,067–$216,031 per year, plus potential long-term incentives in stock options and/or long-term cash awards.

Company

hirify.global develops commercial space infrastructure, including in-orbit pharmaceutical processing payloads, reentry capsules, heat shields, and satellite buses, with vehicles designed, built, and operated in-house.

What you will do

• Own the full GNC development lifecycle from analysis and design through unit testing, hardware-in-the-loop testing, vehicle integration, flight testing, mission operations, and reentry support.
• Specify and size ADCS hardware, including reaction wheels, torque rods, IMU/GPS systems, and star trackers.
• Design autonomous attitude control, collision avoidance, orbital rendezvous, burn planning, and atmospheric reentry algorithms.
• Develop trajectory optimization, dispersion analysis, and six-degree-of-freedom vehicle simulations using C++, Python, and MATLAB/Simulink.
• Run Monte Carlo analyses and integrate and test GNC sensors, actuators, and software in hardware-in-the-loop environments.
• Develop automated maneuver planning and scheduling tools, monitor on-orbit performance, troubleshoot issues, and coordinate with spacecraft operators, third-party agencies, and the U.S. government.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, physics, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience, or a PhD with at least 3 years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated experience designing, modeling, testing, and flying aerospace guidance, navigation, and control systems.
• Strong software and model development skills, particularly in C++ and Python, with knowledge of orbital mechanics, simulation, and software development.
• Experience fitting first-principles models to test data or high-fidelity external simulations, along with systems engineering and configuration management skills.
• U.S. work authorization and U.S. person status are required for access to export-controlled technology.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree in engineering or physics.
• Spacecraft attitude determination and control system design experience.
• Experience with GMAT, POST2, or similar tools.
• Knowledge of multibody dynamics, flexible-body dynamics, gas dynamics, fluids, and thermodynamics.
• Experience supporting safety-critical flight tests or spacecraft and developing physical models for control design and system performance evaluation.

Culture & Benefits

• Regular full-time employees receive flexible PTO, 12 paid holidays, and company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Benefits include FSA and employer-matched HSA options, parental leave, family-building support, and wellness reimbursement.
• Retirement benefits include a 401(k) plan with a 6% employer match and immediate vesting.
• Relocation support may be available for new hires.
• On-site workplace perks include catered meals, team events, and complimentary EV charging.