MachScale · 17 hours ago
Lead GNC Engineer
Lafayette, CO
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
5+ years expMachScale is an early-stage space company focused on building autonomous spacecraft capable of operating safely in close proximity to other objects in orbit. The Lead GNC Engineer will own the guidance, navigation, and control stack to enable precise relative motion and robust estimation for flight-ready proximity operations.
Staffing & Recruiting
Hiring Manager
Brooke Piercy
Responsibilities
Lead the technical direction for proximity-ops autonomy, shaping how guidance, estimation, and control come together in a flight system
Develop and compare approaches for relative navigation and maneuver planning (probabilistic filtering, model-based methods, learning-informed techniques where appropriate) and drive the key architecture decisions
Create and maintain high-fidelity simulation and analysis environments for relative and orbital dynamics, sensor and actuator behavior, uncertainty, and closed-loop performance
Define validation strategy: datasets, scenarios, performance metrics, and test plans that prove readiness beyond “it works in sim.”
Partner with flight software to productize algorithms (interfaces, timing, fault cases) and own integrated testing, including hardware-in-the-loop and end-to-end rehearsals
Contribute to mission execution by defining operational playbooks and CONOPS that account for real spacecraft constraints, plus support critical test and ops milestones
Qualification
Required
5+ years delivering GNC or autonomy for real systems (space preferred; adjacent domains like aerospace or robotics acceptable with strong dynamics and estimation credentials)
Demonstrated expertise in at least one of: state estimation, guidance and trajectory design, or controls, plus the ability to integrate across the full stack
Strong implementation skills in Python; additional experience in embedded or real-time development (e.g., C/C++) is beneficial
Experience taking work from early concept through verification and deployment, including debugging with real sensors and actuators and closing the loop in integrated tests
Familiarity with orbital mechanics and multi-body or perturbed dynamics is a plus, as is comfort with Linux and version-controlled workflows
High ownership, clear communication, and the ability to operate independently in a fast-moving environment
Company
MachScale
Driven to rebuild American strength, we rapidly connect high-performing talent with mission-critical industries.
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageCompany data provided by crunchbase