GNC Lead Engineer

About the role

Muon seeks a Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) Lead to join our spacecraft engineering team in Mountain View, CA. The ideal candidate is an experienced and organized leader who has led the technical development of GNC and attitude determination and control (ADCS) systems from concept through to delivery and operation. In this role, you will lead a team to derive pointing/agility/stability budgets and requirements, spec and select ADCS hardware for current and future missions, perform first principles “hand calcs” for rapid judgements alongside execution of detailed simulations, review and develop flight algorithms, and design and execute validation plans at both the system and component levels. You will work closely with simulation teams to perform software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop tests, flight software teams to implement drivers and algorithms, and spacecraft operators to resolve anomalies. Where applicable, you will also coordinate and lead internal efforts to develop ground test equipment and custom flight hardware.

This role may be remote or located at our headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and manage the team responsible for the GNC design for multiple complete spacecraft mission lifecycles

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the GNC subsystem both internally and with external partners

• Design foundational GNC architectures and roadmaps for multi-mission buses that are also adaptable to mission-specific needs

• Define requirements and acceptance approaches for GNC components working beside Systems Engineers and other subsystem engineers. Create pointing, agility, and positioning budgets to meet mission targeting, geolocation and stability requirements

• Size, assess, and select GNC sensors, actuators and propulsion systems, performing make-vs-buy trades as needed. 

• Execute 6-DOF simulations to evaluate expected on-orbit performance

• Develop environmental models as well as control, attitude and position determination, and schedule algorithms

• Develop calibration approaches and associated ground support equipment

• Drive software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop testing for GNC algorithms and hardware verification

• Proactively identify and manage risks within the subsystem and to the spacecraft, creating mitigation strategies

Requirements

• M.S. or higher degree in an engineering field, preferably with exposure to spacecraft dynamics and orbital mechanics

• Deep knowledge of estimation and control theory

• Expertise in common numerical programming environments (Python - preferred, Matlab, Julia

• Extensive experience running dynamics simulations for spacecraft

• Experience designing and executing GNC component or system-level tests

• Excellent communication, presentation, and coordination skills

• Dedication to finding resolutions based on the most important factors and data

• Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new opportunities each week

Nice-to-have Skills

• Software skills in C, C++

• Experience leading lean, agile teams

• Experience as a systems engineer for spacecraft

• Experience with spacecraft or related flight operations

• Familiarity with software engineering tools and processes (version control, code review)

• Working knowledge of propulsion and impacts to the GNC system

• Hands-on experience building test setups

Salary Range

The salary range for this role is $150k and $190k and will depend on a candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience as defined during the interview process.