Sr. GNC Orbit Controls Engineer

About the role

Xona is seeking a Senior Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) Orbit Controls Engineer to join our team. The ideal candidate will develop and implement the algorithms and onboard software necessary for precise spacecraft station-keeping and disposal.

Responsibilities

• Develop open-loop and closed-loop controllers for RAAN and LTAN control, altitude management, station-keeping, and end-of-life disposal
• Implement and maintain onboard orbit propagators, select and validate integrators, and ensure numerical consistency with ground truth
• Build and validate orbit determination pipelines using EKF or UKF with GNSS, and manage navigation readiness and covariance gating for maneuvers
• Design burns and long-arc trajectories, and optimize delta V and timelines under comm visibility, power and thermal, and operations constraints
• Plan and execute electric-propulsion long burns, including throttle profile generation, power and duty-cycle scheduling, thermal considerations, ignition and re-ignition logic, progress monitoring, and correction strategies
• Maintain numerically consistent MATLAB and C++ simulators, create Monte Carlo campaigns, run SIL and HIL tests, and perform post-maneuver reconstruction

Requirements

• You are strong in orbital mechanics and simulation and have implemented onboard propagators with perturbation models and integrators on flight targets
• You have built production guidance, control, or navigation software in C and C++, and use MATLAB and Simulink for analysis, modeling, and test-vector generation
• You have designed RAAN and LTAN control strategies in open-loop and closed-loop forms and validated them in high-fidelity sims or flight
• You have executed or supported real maneuvers and can reconcile plan versus truth with post-burn estimation
• You are comfortable at the ADCS and propulsion interface for burn pointing and momentum management

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Control Systems, Applied Physics, or a related field
• Hands-on electric propulsion experience including thrust modeling and calibration, long-burn guidance, duty-cycle planning, and thermal constraints
• Trajectory design and optimization expertise
• Emphasis on code quality and reliability with unit and integration testing, SIL and HIL, and experience on embedded RTOS or embedded Linux targets
• Familiarity with CCSDS ephemeris and attitude formats

Pay

Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Full-time, remote work.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.

Skills

Strong background in orbital mechanics and simulation, experience with C and C++, proficiency in MATLAB and Simulink, expertise in RAAN and LTAN control strategies, hands-on electric propulsion experience, trajectory design and optimization expertise, emphasis on code quality and reliability, familiarity with CCSDS ephemeris and attitude formats.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.