GNC Engineer II (Spacecraft)

Location: Onsite near Denver, CO or Long Beach, CA

Salary: $90,000–$155,000 annual base salary in Colorado, plus equity and benefits.

Company

hirify.global develops autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors for space security and defense.

What you will do

• Own GNC system development across architecture definition, algorithm design, verification, hardware integration, and on-orbit operations.
• Design, test, and validate flight software and embedded GNC algorithms for spacecraft operating in LEO, GEO, and other orbit regimes.
• Develop attitude and orbit determination and estimation algorithms, including sensor fusion and filtering frameworks such as EKF, UKF, and batch least-squares.
• Build and improve high-fidelity 6-DOF simulation environments for software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and mission analysis.
• Evaluate GNC hardware including reaction wheels, torque rods, thrusters, star trackers, sun sensors, IMUs, and RF or optical navigation sensors.
• Collaborate with avionics, propulsion, software, mission operations, and systems engineering teams on integration, commissioning, maneuver planning, calibration, and anomaly resolution.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, or a related field.
• 2–4 years of relevant GNC engineering experience in the aerospace and defense industry.
• Knowledge of spacecraft attitude dynamics, orbital mechanics, control systems, sensors, actuators, state estimation, and control laws.
• Experience with C++ and/or Python for algorithm development, numerical methods, or simulation.
• Ability to build, test, and debug software and simulation tools and work effectively in a multidisciplinary engineering environment.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations under ITAR.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree in aerospace engineering or an equivalent discipline.
• Experience with closed-loop control, orbital maneuvering, filtering, state estimation, fault management, and spaceflight simulation.
• Experience with flight operations, real-time console problem-solving, line-of-sight performance analysis, or hands-on GNC hardware testing.
• Ability to maintain or obtain a TS//SCI U.S. government security clearance.

Culture & Benefits

• Work on spacecraft, payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors supporting space superiority.
• Health, dental, vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO, and paid holidays.
• 401(k), parental leave, and equity participation.
• Equal employment opportunity and accommodation support are provided.