Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer
Firefly Aerospace
Posted on Friday, March 10, 2023
ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE
Firefly Aerospace Inc. is an American end-to-end space transportation company committed to providing economical and convenient access to space for small payloads through the design, manufacture, and operation of reliable launch and spacecraft vehicles. Firefly’s launch vehicles utilize common technologies, manufacturing infrastructure, and launch capabilities, providing LEO launch solutions for up to ten metric tons of payload. Combined with Firefly’s in-space vehicles, such as the Space Utility Vehicle (SUV) and Blue Ghost Lunar Lander, Firefly provides the space industry with a single source for missions from LEO to the surface of the Moon or beyond. Firefly is headquartered in Cedar Park, TX.
SUMMARY
As a Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer at Firefly, you will leverage your knowledge of dynamics, control theory, and software development to help develop innovative solutions for the application of spacecraft technologies. You will work in small collaborative groups through all stages of the GN&C algorithm development, testing, and integration processes.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Design, simulate, and test guidance, navigation, and control algorithms for spacecraft
- Advance the state-of-the-art of Firefly spacecraft simulation capabilities
- Validate and verify GN&C flight software through all-digital and hardware-in-the-loop testing, and support Assembly, Integration and Test team
- Utilize Monte Carlo techniques for performance and trajectory analysis
- Use radiometric ranging techniques to perform spacecraft orbit determination
- Perform radiation analysis for mission trajectory
- Evaluate pointing accuracies and perform mission pointing analysis
- Manage delta-V and propellant budgets
- Support launch and mission operations
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or physics and >5 years of relevant work experience
- Strong understanding of dynamics, orbital mechanics, control systems, and estimation
- Experience with software development in C/C++Experience with Version Control
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
- Experience working as part of a team of technical contributors
Desired
- Master’s degree in engineering or physics + 10 years of relevant work experience
- Demonstrated professional experience developing a functional aerospace GNC system
- Space vehicle launch and mission operations experience
- Familiarity with Agile Software Development Processes, Git, and Git workflows
- Familiarity with Linux
- Python experience
- Experience using STK and ODTK
Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, pet Insurance, and flexible PTO options.
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
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