GNC Engineer (Alpha)

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

Firefly Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineers leverage their knowledge of dynamics, control theory, and software development to control the attitude and trajectory of an array of space vehicles. As a Firefly GNC engineer, you will work in small, collaborative groups through every stage of the space mission development lifecycle: design, integration, testing, and operations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and test algorithms to control the trajectory and attitude of launch vehicles and spacecraft
• Implement GNC algorithms in flight software deployments
• Create high fidelity models of Firefly vehicles to simulate their dynamic behavior
• Characterize the performance and capabilities of space vehicles
• Support the integration, checkout, and testing of sensor and actuator hardware
• Fulfill operational duties concerned with monitoring and reporting status of GNC software and vehicle dynamic states
• Continually improve the quality, speed, and reliability of Firefly payload delivery services

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or physics
• Proficiency in dynamics, orbital mechanics, control systems, and estimation
• Experience with software development in C++
• Experience with version control software and practices
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Ability to take complete ownership of individual tasks and see them to completion

Desired

• Master’s degree in engineering or physics, or relevant work experience
• Demonstrated professional experience implementing an operational aerospace GNC system
• Mastery in of the areas of dynamics, orbital mechanics, control systems, estimation, or software development
• Familiarity with the software development process, Git, and Git workflows
• Proficiency with C++ or Python
• Familiarity with Linux

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, 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.