Senior GNC Engineer (Spacecraft)

Location: Onsite in Long Beach, California, United States. The role involves access to U.S. export-controlled information and requires U.S. person status or eligibility for deemed export licensing.

Salary: $159,900–$226,980 USD per year in California.

Company

hirify.global develops next-generation commercial space stations and spacecraft to support human presence, microgravity research, manufacturing, and the emerging space economy.

What you will do

• Own the ADCS architecture for a constellation-ready spacecraft bus using four CMGs in a pyramid configuration.
• Develop attitude determination, CMG steering, singularity avoidance, momentum management, desaturation, and spacecraft control algorithms.
• Build and validate 6DOF simulations, digital-twin workflows, Monte Carlo campaigns, and flight-readiness analyses.
• Define pointing budgets and CMG and sensor performance requirements for star trackers, IMUs, sun sensors, magnetometers, and GNSS receivers.
• Design and commission the hardware-in-the-loop lab, support CMG closed-loop testing, and plan on-orbit ADCS commissioning.
• Collaborate with payload customers, structures, electronics, procurement, and electric-propulsion teams on pointing, stability, flexible-body dynamics, and controllability requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, mathematics, or a related technical discipline.
• 6+ years of spacecraft GNC or ADCS development experience.
• Experience developing spacecraft GNC algorithms for attitude determination, control-law design, and actuator management.
• Experience with reaction wheels or CMGs, including actuator sizing, control allocation, and momentum management.
• Experience building and validating 6DOF spacecraft simulations and developing pointing budgets across sensor and actuator chains.
• Experience designing and executing hardware-in-the-loop test environments, from architecture trades through flight-software implementation.

Nice to have

• CMG steering laws, singularity avoidance, and pyramid configuration optimization experience.
• LEO momentum management, magnetic desaturation, gravity-gradient control, and star tracker or IMU characterization experience.
• Agile small-satellite GNC development and GNC flight-software implementation experience.
• Ability to obtain a security clearance.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time exempt employment with company equity.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents.
• Paid time off, vacation, paid parental leave, disability insurance, and life insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare, and other discounts.
• Onsite food perks including snacks, coffee, drinks, dinner meals, and subsidized lunch.