Senior GNC Engineer (Navigation)

About the role

Today, everything we send to space is constrained by what fits inside a rocket fairing. That's a fundamental bottleneck to building more capable spacecraft. Rendezvous Robotics is solving this problem with electromagnetic self-assembling tiles: modular spacecraft components that rendezvous, dock, and latch to assemble bigger and more powerful spacecraft than anything that can be folded to fit into a rocket.

We're a small team based in Golden, Colorado, executing on a clear path from flight demonstration to our first operational systems. Our work spans hardware, software, and systems engineering. We are looking for the best people in the world who want to build the next generation of advanced spacecraft.

About the role

As a Senior GNC Engineer, (Navigation), you will be responsible for the complete lifecycle of the relative-state estimation that makes electromagnetic docking possible.

You will define the navigation accuracy budget the control loop is built on, design and tune the filter that delivers relative ranging and bearing from the tile sensor suite, prove it through analysis and simulation, and bring it into reality in onboard flight software.

This is an opportunity to apply expertise in estimation and sensor fusion to both set the sensor suite and interface requirements and implement the onboard navigation that delivers them -working collaboratively across control, perception, and avionics to close the docking loop on hardware, ultimately defining the navigation scope and requirements for future tiles.

Secondarily, you will also support absolute navigation of the swarm once it is docked, latched, and now functioning as a monolithic spacecraft/vehicle. These are the traditional set of GNC problems related to orbit navigation and propagation.

Responsibilities

• Develop highly reliable, performant state estimation and navigation algorithms, simulations, tools, and dashboards in C++ and Python
• Own relative-state estimation for proximity operations and docking: design, implement, tune, and verify filters (EKF, UKF, etc)
• Deliver relative pose- and position-knowledge at the range-dependent requirements that guarantee closed-loop stability
• Derive measurement models from first principles for relative ranging and bearing from the tile sensor suite
• Define and own the perception interfaces to navigation
• Verify estimator performance and robustness with hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) experiments
• Support flight operations, monitor on-orbit health and performance, lead on-orbit anomaly investigations, and drive on-orbit system reliability of navigation algorithms
• Secondarily, support development of navigation algorithms for the assembled spacecraft

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace/electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, or other relevant engineering discipline
• Software development experience in C++ and Python

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in an engineering discipline or physics: 5+ years of professional GNC or state-estimation experience
• Expertise in computer vision, sequential estimation techniques, including Kalman filtering, residual editing, filter tuning, covariance analysis, consider parameters, adaptive processes, and covariance realism
• Strong understanding of electromagnetic systems, orbital mechanics and high-fidelity orbit propagation (perturbations in low-Earth orbit, drag modeling, etc), and embedded software development
• Proficiency in measurement and sensor handling, including measurement processing, measurement modeling, debiasing, sensor calibration, image processing, optical observations, etc
• Proficiency in data analysis techniques, including statistical tests (e.g., chi-squared, Kolmogorov-Smirnov) and data correlation methods
• Proven ability to develop, test, and deploy algorithms for real-world space/robotic applications, with proficiency in version control systems like Git
• Capable of identifying and solving complex problems with little to no supervision or direction in a fast-paced, start-up environment
• Passionate about solving hard problems, building things, and advancing the space industry
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Compensation and Benefits

Senior GNC Engineer: $145,000.00 - $190,000.00

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. In addition to the base salary, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options. You will receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, short- and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and paid parental leave. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.