Spacecraft GNC Director

About Anduril

Anduril Industries is a pioneering defense technology company that aims to revolutionize U.S. and allied military capabilities with cutting-edge technology.

We leverage the expertise, technology, and business model of innovative companies to transform how military systems are designed, built, and sold. Our family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-driven operating system that converts real-time data streams into a 3D command and control center.

In an era of strategic competition, we're committed to delivering cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in record time.

Salary Range:$228,000—$342,000 USD

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on various compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.

Your Role

We're seeking a highly skilled Mission Critical Systems Engineer (Director of GNC Engineering) to lead our spacecraft GNC software and hardware subsystems development. As part of our Space team, you'll own all facets of the engineering life cycle: concept development, algorithm implementation, flight software design, subsystem requirements development, detailed GNC design, simulation, integration & test, and vehicle I&T as it relates to GNC.

You'll collaborate closely with related teams, including Systems, Flight Software, Mission Operations, and Ground Software. The successful candidate will lead technology development responsible for GNC design, modeling, and analysis for a wide variety of spacecraft and space missions, including LEO, MEO, GEO, Reentry, and RPOD.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop modern, software-defined approaches to autonomous spacecraft operations with maneuvering capabilities to accomplish mission objectives.
• Create test plans and procedures to validate the GNC system during ground checkout, on-orbit commissioning, and operations.
• Collaborate across multiple teams to plan, build, and test complex functionality.
• Coordinate with end-users, operators, and customers to turn needs into features while balancing user experience with engineering constraints.
• Support challenging schedules during ground testing, launch windows, and on-orbit operations of spacecraft systems.
• Responsible for planning and maintaining the development schedule to support leading-edge programs and products.
• Directly interact with customers to ensure mission success.
• Design flight software, algorithms, and simulation products.
• Develop spacecraft autonomy tools for dynamic space operations.
• Test process development and execution.
• Define automated fault detection and response.
• Provide hardware-in-the-loop and monte-carlo simulation capabilities.

Requirements

• Strong engineering background from industry or school, ideally in areas/fields such as Aerospace Engineering, Dynamics and Controls Engineering, Computer Science, or other engineering degree.
• Experience conducting spacecraft operations and satellite command and control with an emphasis on system reliability and uptime.
• Ability to quickly understand and navigate complex systems and detailed requirements.
• Experience with orbital mechanics and resident space object tracking capabilities.
• Experience developing 3-DOF simplified and 6-DOF high-fidelity dynamics simulation models used for GNC systems analysis and validation.
• Familiarity with rendezvous proximity operations and docking.
• Experience with computer vision and perception algorithms to support GNC operations.
• Strong knowledge of spacecraft dynamics, orbital mechanics, and control theory.
• Clear communication and organizational skills including documentation and training material.
• Must be eligible to obtain and hold a US DoD security clearance (Secret, Top Secret, TS with SCI).

Benefits

• Platinum Benefits: We offer top-tier platinum coverage (medical, dental, vision, life) and cover 100 percent of the premiums for you.
• 16 Weeks paid parental leave for all caregivers.
• Family planning: We're proud to offer comprehensive family planning support. Fertility planning and treatment, adoption support, gestational carrier support, and fertility preservation are all included.
• Unlimited Provisions: From breakfast to dinner, our kitchen team has you covered with healthy meals and snacks at every office.
• Commuter benefits depending on region.
• Relocation assistance.
• Unlimited and Incentivized Time Off.