Senior Satellite Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer at Portal Space Systems

Department: EngineeringEducation: education_optional

Location: Bothell, Washington
Type: Full-time
Level: senior
Posted: Jul 30, 2026

Description

Portal Space Systems is hiring a Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer to lead the full lifecycle development of the GNC subsystem for flight software. The role owns architecture, design, algorithms, modeling, simulation, avionics integration, testing, mission planning, and system analysis, while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and mentoring junior engineers. Candidates need at least five years of spacecraft and satellite GNC development experience, a relevant advanced degree, and expertise in rendezvous, docking, control theory, astrodynamics, and system safety analyses.

Required Skills

Linear control
Rendezvous and docking
Monte Carlo simulations
MATLAB/Simulink
Kalman filtering
System safety
Flight software

Additional Information

Minimum Education: Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent
Required Previous Experiences: Leading the full development lifecycle of a GN&C subsystem in an aerospace program
Rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking
Decomposing complex tasks into defined work subsets
Monte Carlo, hardware-in-the-loop, and software-in-the-loop testing
System safety analyses, including functional hazard, failure modes and effects, and fault tree analyses
At least five years of spacecraft and satellite GNC development experience
Designing, implementing, and testing autonomous navigation, guidance, and control systems from simulation through field deployment
Preferred Qualifications: Precise pointing control using linear control methods
Proficiency in MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or C/C++
Avionics integration with spacecraft sensors and actuators
Spacecraft dynamics, orbital mechanics, and trajectory optimization
High-fidelity simulation and HIL/SIL testing
Aerospace industry standards and regulations
Problem-solving and collaborative teamwork
Real-time embedded software and flight software
Kalman filtering, guidance laws, and autonomous navigation
Mission operations and post-launch analysis
Spacecraft communication protocols and fault detection
Space mission integration and test campaigns
Translation Company Name: Portal Space Systems