Guidance, Navigation and Controls (GNC) Internship - Fall 2026

About the role

The GNC (Guidance, Navigation & Controls) team is responsible for the design, analysis, simulation, and operational performance of Varda’s reentry vehicles. In this internship, you'll help enable end-to-end GNC performance for our flight vehicles—supporting everything from 6DOF simulation and control system modeling to sensor integration and trajectory optimization.

Responsibilities

• Own or contribute to analysis, algorithms and simulations for reentry vehicles
• Own Integration and testing of GNC sensors, actuators and software in simulation and hardware in the loop environments
• Design and implement mission critical tooling needed to facilitate automated maneuver responsibility and scheduling decisions
• Design and implementation of autonomous satellite attitude control, collision avoidance, orbital rendezvous, burn planning and atmospheric re-entry algorithms
• Perform trajectory design, optimization, and dispersion analysis for the reentry of a space capsule

Qualifications

• Previous GNC internship
• Familiar with orbital mechanics, flight dynamics, trajectory design and optimization, feedback controls, 6DOF flight simulations, navigation solutions, guidance navigation and controls flight algorithms, monte carlo analysis
• Familiarity with C++ or python and modern software development principles

Preferred Skills And Experience

• At least one year of experience on a technical project team (e.g., CubeSat, Rocket Team, AIAA Design-Build-Fly, Formula SAE)
• Previous experience working on simulation support tools or GNC tooling for aerospace vehicles
• Familiarity with Monte Carlo analysis, navigation filters, sensor/actuator integration, or HIL simulation environments
• Experience with tools like GMAT, POST2, MATLAB/Simulink, or custom orbital simulation frameworks
• Strong communication and documentation skills

Compensation

Hourly Rate: $33.00
Housing stipend for interns relocating to the area
Commuter benefit to support local transportation

Benefits

• Health & Wellness: Flexible PTO policy + 12 paid holidays, 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options, Voluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance, $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses, 12 weeks of parental leave (with supplemental disability leave for CA mothers), Family building, pregnancy, parenting and menopause benefits via Maven Clinic, Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents
• Financial & Retirement: Substantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up, 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested), $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement
• Workplace Experience & Perks: Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly, Company and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrations, Complimentary EV charging

ITAR Requirements

Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.

E-Verify Statement

Varda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.