LEAD ENGINEER - SR. RESEARCH ENGINEER - ADCS/GNC

About the Role

The Spacecraft Development Department is a group of innovative engineers, program managers, and technicians developing unique spacecraft solutions for challenging space missions. We design and fabricate custom solutions to explore the boundaries of science or solve complex problems not yet delivered by industry to accommodate a variety of payloads.

Objectives of this role include designing and deploying GNC/ADCS systems, developing high-fidelity simulations, and supporting mission design and flight operations. You will build and lead highly technical teams, working both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team to conceptualize, design, analyze, implement, and verify ADCS across the full mission lifecycle. The ADCS design team collaborates with the Project Systems Engineer and other spacecraft subsystems during requirements definition, architecture trade studies, detailed design, integration and test, deployment, and on-orbit operations. You will play a key role in GNC/ADCS for spacecraft, serving as a technical authority while executing detailed analysis and development work.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine spacecraft ADCS/GNC architectures, algorithms, and flight software.
• Build, maintain, and validate 3DOF/6DOF simulations to support design, verification, and mission analysis.
• Perform spacecraft dynamics and control analysis, including performance assessments, sensitivity studies, and hardware/sensor trade-offs.
• Support mission design activities, including trajectory design, maneuver planning, and operational concept development.
• Participate in integration, verification, and validation activities, including hardware-in-the-loop simulations and flight readiness efforts.
• Support test and flight operations: configuration of ADCS/GNC systems for flight, real-time monitoring, anomaly investigation, etc.
• Document designs, analyses, test plans, and results; present findings to cross-functional engineering teams, management, and customers.
• Collaborate with systems, propulsion, structures, avionics, and flight software teams to ensure robust end-to-end spacecraft performance.
• Contribute to the development and analysis of future ADCS concepts, architectures, and enabling technologies.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Astronautical Engineering, Space Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering field with experience in Attitude Determination and Control (ADCS) and/or Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC).
• 6–10 years of demonstrated technical expertise in simulation development and control/guidance design for spacecraft, including successful deployment to flight or on-orbit operations.
• 6–10 years of experience implementing GNC/ADCS algorithms in flight software or hardware-in-the-loop environments.
• Proficiency in Python, C++, or MATLAB for analysis and development.
• A valid/clear driver’s license is required.

Special Requirements

• Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
• Applicant must be a U.S. citizen.

Job Location: San Antonio, Texas