Varda Space Industries · 7 hours ago
Guidance, Navigation & Controls (GNC) Internship - Spring 2026
El Segundo, CA
Internship
Onsite
Intern
Start in 2026 SpringVarda Space Industries is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, focusing on creating products and infrastructure that benefit life on Earth. The GNC internship involves supporting the design, analysis, and performance of reentry vehicles, contributing to various simulations and algorithm implementations for flight vehicles.
AerospaceManufacturingProduct Design
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
As part of the GNC team, own or contribute to analysis, algorithms and simulations for reentry vehicles
Own Integration and testing of GNC sensors, actuators and software in simulation and hardware in the loop environments
Design and implement mission critical tooling needed to facilitate automated maneuver responsibility and scheduling decisions
Design and implementation of autonomous satellite attitude control, collision avoidance, orbital rendezvous, burn planning and atmospheric re-entry algorithms
Perform trajectory design, optimization, and dispersion analysis for the reentry of a space capsule
Qualification
Required
Previous GNC internship
Familiar with orbital mechanics, flight dynamics, trajectory design and optimization, feedback controls, 6DOF flight simulations, navigation solutions, guidance navigation and controls flight algorithms, monte carlo analysis
Familiarity with C++ or python and modern software development principles
Must be a U.S. person as defined by U.S. export regulations
Preferred
At least one year of experience on a technical project team (e.g., CubeSat, Rocket Team, AIAA Design-Build-Fly, Formula SAE)
Previous experience working on simulation support tools or GNC tooling for aerospace vehicles
Familiarity with Monte Carlo analysis, navigation filters, sensor/actuator integration, or HIL simulation environments
Experience with tools like GMAT, POST2, MATLAB/Simulink, or custom orbital simulation frameworks
Strong communication and documentation skills
Benefits
Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field working by your side
Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth (interns excluded)
401(k) matching (interns excluded)
Unlimited PTO (interns excluded)
Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
Lunch and snacks provided on site every day. Dinners provided twice a week.
Maternity / Paternity leave (interns excluded)
Company
Varda Space Industries
Low Earth orbit is open for business.
Founded in 2021
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$328.02MKey Investors
Alumni VenturesCaffeinated CapitalKhosla Ventures
2025-07-10Series C· $187M
2024-12-19Series C
2024-04-05Series B· $90M
Leadership Team
Will Bruey
Chief Executive Officer
Recent News
Business Insider
2025-12-25
2025-12-17
Company data provided by crunchbase