Xona

navigational intelligence

GNCOrbitControlsEngineer

$130–175k Burlingame, California, United States FULL TIME
Market Sentiment
HIGH DEMAND

Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Mid+ candidates.

The Brief

“GNC Orbit Controls Engineer at Xona. Skills: Orbit Controls, GNC Software, Orbital Mechanics. Develop controllers. Implement propagators”

What You'll Achieve.

deliver safe, efficient, and highly automated station-keeping and disposal; keeps our spacecraft exactly where they need to be

Industry & Context.

navigational intelligence
Problems you'll solve

orbit determination; guidance; maneuver execution; station-keeping; disposal; trajectory design; optimization

Eligibility Requirements

U. S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i. e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U. S. C. 1324b(a)(3), Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, UK Security Clearance (SC), security clearance at the reliability status level, Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP), ITAR

What They're Looking For.

Must Have

orbital mechanics, simulation, onboard propagators, perturbation models, integrators, flight targets, GNC software experience, C++, MATLAB, analysis, modeling, test-vector generation, real maneuvers, post-burn estimation, ADCS, propulsion interface, burn pointing, momentum management

Nice to Have

B. S. or M. S. in Aerospace Engineering, Control Systems, Applied Physics, or a related field, electric propulsion, thrust modeling, calibration, long-burn guidance, duty-cycle planning, thermal constraints, orbit propagation algorithms, Trajectory design, optimization expertise, CCSDS ephemeris, attitude formats

What You'll Do.

Implement propagators

Build orbit determination pipelines

Coordinate burn pointing

Create Monte Carlo campaigns

Run SIL and HIL tests

Perform reconstruction

Full Job Description

Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth. With Pulsar – the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit – Xona will offer a future-proof, backwards-compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection. We're looking for a GNC Orbit Controls Engineer to design and implement the algorithms and onboard software that handle orbit determination, guidance, maneuver execution, and post-maneuver analysis to deliver safe, efficient, and highly automated station-keeping and disposal. We’re building the software that keeps our spacecraft exactly where they need to be.   WHAT YOU’LL DO - Develop open-loop and closed-loop controllers for 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 orbit determination pipelines using EKF with GNSS - Design burns and long-arc trajectories, and optimize delta V and timelines under comm visibility, power and thermal, and operations constraints - Coordinate burn pointing and wheel momentum strategy with ADCS - Maintain numerically consistent MATLAB and C++ simulators, create Monte Carlo campaigns, run SIL and HIL tests, and perform post-maneuver reconstruction   REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - You are familiar with orbital mechanics and simulation and have had exposure with onboard propagators with perturbation models and integrators on flight targets - You have GNC software experience in C++ and MATLAB for analysis, modeling, and test-vector generation - You have 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 - B.S. or M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Control Systems, Ap

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