GNC Engineer Lead — Oasis-1 Mission (Space Resource Program)

Application close date:

At Blue Origin we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. Were working to develop reusable safe and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety collaboration and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

We believe that to preserve our planet humanity must expand beyond our current limits venturing into space to explore and harness new energy and material pursuit of this vision we invite you to join our Space Resources Program working alongside Blue Alchemist Blue Origins initiative to enable lunar surface power production and building blocks for humanity from local materials. The Space Resources Program encompasses multiple projects; in this role you will contribute across the portfolio including the current Blue Alchemist effort and future initiatives. Were dedicated to developing and demonstrating Prospecting and In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) technologies for the Moon Mars and beyond. If our mission resonates with you and you are eager to contribute you could be the perfect addition to our inclusive open-minded and forward-thinking team.

In this hands-on role you will work in a fully in-person capacity at our Los Angeles facility. You will serve as a GNC (Guidance Navigation and Control) Engineer designing implementing and validating guidance navigation and control algorithms for a lunar prospecting mission Oasis-1. You will develop attitude and orbit determination and control; perform trajectory dispersion modeling implement data integration across flight sensor and ground station measurements; define control mode logic ; build closed-loop and Monte Carlo simulations; and integrate with flight software and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) benches. You will own GNC performance budgets and acceptance criteria contribute to ConOps for navigation support operations readiness and provide on-console support during commissioning and anomaly resolution. You will collaborate closely with Software Systems Instruments Design & Integration Mission Assurance/Quality and external partners to deliver secure reliable end-to-end operations.

We value self-motivated hands-on leaders who can find practical solutions to abstract problems. Our teams work in fast-paced cycles of design analysis and operations to deliver scalable solutions. Were looking for someone adaptable willing to take action eager to learn and committed to a highly dedicated and open-minded team of team players working together all while embracing a culture of safety and quality. Your creativity innovative spirit and ability to navigate changing requirements are crucial.

Conditions of Employment: Offer and start are contingent upon contract award/funding and required internal approvals. If the contract is not awarded the role may be paused or canceled.

Fully in-person role based at our Los Angeles (North Hollywood) SRCE facility.

Key Responsibilities and Core Deliverables:

• GNC architecture algorithms and performance
  • Define and implement guidance laws navigation filters (e.g. EKF/UKF) position/velocity sensor integration and control mode logic aligned to mission ConOps and navigation needs.
  • Deliver configuration-controlled GNC architecture algorithm descriptions performance budgets (pointing stability settling time ΔV) and acceptance criteria.

• Simulation analysis and HIL
  • Build and maintain SIL/HIL environments and closed-loop simulations; develop high-fidelity sensor/actuator models (IMU sun sensor star tracker context camera reaction wheels torque rods); run Monte Carlo and corner-case analyses.
  • Deliver HIL readiness reviews regression suites coverage reports stability/robustness analyses and test reports with anomaly investigations and closures.
• Flight software integration and verification
  • Integrate GNC algorithms with flight software (real-time C/C on RTOS/Linux); define interfaces timing and telemetry; tune controllers and filters; conduct unit/integration tests.
  • Deliver verified GNC builds interface control documentation (ICDs) test evidence tuning matrices and as-built release documentation.
• Attitude/orbit determination and operations support
  • Execute attitude/orbit determination using onboard sensors and radiometric data; support pass planning inputs and commissioning; provide on-console support for GNC during rehearsals and operations; lead anomaly triage and recovery procedures.
  • Trajectory dispersion modeling to calculate envelope of possible trajectories.
  • Orbital maintenance planning and execution.
  • Deliver operations procedures/playbooks commissioning reports performance telemetry analyses and updates to tuning/coefficients based on flight data.
• Requirements verification and reviews
  • Define GNC requirements acceptance criteria and verification methods; maintain traceability to system requirements; contribute to FMEA/FTA and reliability analyses with Systems.
  • Deliver verification matrices test results discrepancies/closures and GNC content for gated reviews.
• Cross-functional collaboration
  • Coordinate interfaces and schedules with Software Systems Instruments Design & Integration Mission Assurance/Quality and ground station providers; align change control and configuration management.
  • Deliver interface agreements change-control submissions for GNC impacts and contributions to integrated milestone plans.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in aerospace engineering mechanical engineering electrical/computer engineering physics or related field.
• 5 years of experience delivering and operating GNC systems for spacecraft or similarly safety/mission-critical vehicles.
• Demonstrated proficiency in guidance laws attitude and orbit determination sensor integration and control algorithm design and tuning (e.g. EKF/UKF quaternion/rotation math reaction wheel/torque rod control).
• Hands-on experience building closed-loop simulations and HIL benches; high-fidelity sensor/actuator modeling; Monte Carlo robustness analyses.
• Proficiency in C/C for embedded/real-time systems and Python/Matlab/Simulink for modeling analysis and tooling; experience with version control (e.g. Git).
• Experience defining GNC requirements/ICDs verification plans and acceptance criteria; operating within formal reviews and change-control processes.
• Familiarity with small satellite ADCS hardware and RF/radiometric navigation data integration.
• Strong collaboration skills in fast-paced environments; ability to coordinate cross-functional teams (software systems instruments mission ops quality).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters degree in a related field; 8 years of relevant experience.
• Experience with lunar or interplanetary missions; small satellite ADCS hardware and supplier integration (e.g. reaction wheel sets torque rods star trackers).
• Depth in estimation and control methods (e.g. robust/optimal control nonlinear methods covariance analysis FDIR/FMECA-driven fault management).
• Experience with test automation and CI/CD for GNC simulations; static/dynamic analysis and code quality tooling.
• Experience leading GNC content through SRR/PDR/CDR/TRR/FRR with audit-ready artifacts.
• Familiarity with CCSDS and ground station ranging/radiometric data processing; time synchronization and performance telemetry integration.
• Operations experience supporting commissioning anomaly resolution and on-console GNC.

Compensation Range for:

Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement

Dont meet all desired requirements Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace so if youre excited about this role but your past experience doesnt align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

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Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder) or lawfully admitted into the a refugee or granted asylum.

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Benefits

• Benefits include: Medical dental vision basic and supplemental life insurance paid parental leave short and long-term disability 401(k) with a company match of up to 5% and an Education Support Program.

• Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours and up to 14 company-paid holidays.

• Dependent on role type and job level employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the companys intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the companys results or other factors at the companys sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

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