Senior GNC Engineer

Inversion · Vista · $139,000–$201,000 (stated in the posting)

Advanced Reentry Technologies

Who We Are:

Inversion is an aerospace and defense company pioneering advanced reentry technology to enable next-generation capabilities from space. By combining high-performance materials, precision aerodynamics, and mission-driven autonomy, Inversion is transforming reentry into an operational capability for an entirely new class of missions.

The company’s highly maneuverable reentry spacecraft, Arc, is designed for rapid global cargo delivery, hypersonic testing, and other national security missions that require precise, controlled flight through the atmosphere. Arc creates an entirely new transportation domain, unlocking unprecedented speed and global reach.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Inversion designs, manufactures, and integrates its spacecraft under one roof, enabling the company to move rapidly from concept to flight. The company is backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, with customers across the U.S. government and commercial space industry.

Position Overview

As a Senior GNC Engineer at Inversion, you will have an instrumental impact on the functionality and performance of our next-generation reentry vehicles. You will own a substantial aspect of the Guidance, Navigation, and Control that will enable the accurate and precise landing of our Arc spacecraft. Aspects of this work include developing novel algorithms for the final landing stages of flight, building the modeling and simulation needed to quickly iterate on those algorithms, and rapidly flight testing them to achieve the required performance. This is a unique opportunity to work on the early stages of a novel reentry vehicle, including defining vehicle architecture and creatively solving new design challenges. Your impact will be on all aspects of the Guidance, Navigation, and Control that powers the world’s first reentry vehicle designed for turning space into a transportation layer for Earth. You will be a key member of the Accurate Landing team, reporting directly to the Director of Engineering, Accurate Landing.

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
Typically 5+ years of applicable experience developing and testing GNC algorithms and systems.
Strong fundamental understanding of controls and estimation algorithms including Kalman filtering, sensor fusion, and state estimation.
Solid grasp of classical mechanics, dynamics, and rigid body motion.
Proficiency in programming languages such as MATLAB, Python, or C++ for simulation and analysis.
Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Capable of working in a dynamic, fast-paced startup environment.
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret/Top Secret security clearance.

Desired Qualifications:

Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
Experience with guidance and trajectory planning algorithms
Experience with system identification and parameter estimation for complex dynamical systems.
Experience building code deployed to real hardware in a compute-restricted environment.
Practical experience developing GNC for airborne vehicles.
Hardware in the Loop (HITL) test experience.

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in office presence.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $139,000-$201,000.  Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity. 

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ITAR Compliance:

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.

Inversion collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. If you are a US Job Applicant see the CCPA Privacy Policy Notice for further details.

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