SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
GNC ENGINEER - EMBEDDED CONTROLS, AI SATELLITES (STARMIND)
SpaceX is leveraging its experience deploying and operating the world’s largest satellite constellation to develop Starmind, a new constellation of satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth.
The Starmind team is developing key technologies to power this satellite – massive solar power generation systems, active cooling, propulsion, and the highly reliable software stack that enables our vehicles to accomplish their mission safely and autonomously.
As an Embedded Controls Engineer on the Starmind Guidance, Navigation, and Control team (GNC) team, you will apply a strong expertise in dynamics and closed loop controls to achieve robust and precise pointing on satellites, payloads, propulsion systems, and mechanisms. This is not just an analysis role – you will be responsible for vehicle design trades, simulation, flight software implementation, and ultimately deploying and operating your features in space.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Design, analysis, implementation of electromechanical control systems such as solar array actuators, antenna gimbals, and high bandwidth active optics.
- Design, analysis, implementation of satellite attitude control and momentum management systems.
- Design, analysis, implementation of fluid and power system controls for the Starlink hall thrusters.
- Optimal state estimation as applied to mechanical alignment and attitude determination.
- Hardware performance specification and sizing, support for hardware iteration and firmware bringup, design qualification, automated production screening, and performance monitoring in the fleet.
- Development and maintenance of high fidelity simulations using C++, python, matlab, integration of those simulations into collaborative analysis tools.
- Implementation, validation, unit testing, and deployment of production software (C++) pertinent to the systems described above.
- Provide engineering and data review support for hardware development, network level performance monitoring.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, physics or an engineering discipline.
- Software development experience in C++.
- Experience with design and analysis of closed loop control systems.
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Master's degree or PhD in physics or an engineering discipline.
- Very strong expertise and demonstrated project or professional experience in linear closed loop controls analysis and design, including state space and frequency domain methods.
- Experience with flexible body dynamics and reduced finite element models thereof in the context of closed loop control systems analysis.
- Expertise in state estimation, kalman filters, information filters, etc.
- Strong expertise in embedded C++, ideally in the context of electromechanical control systems firmware.
- Strong understanding of classical rigid body dynamics, orbital mechanics, modeling and simulation thereof.
- Direct experience with spacecraft operations and flight software development, testing, and deployment.
- Capable of identifying and solving complex problems in a self-directed manner.
- Passion for advancing the commercial space industry.
- Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding start-up atmosphere.
- Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
- To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [email protected].
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, physics, or an engineering discipline
- Software development experience in C++
- Experience with design and analysis of closed loop control systems
- Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed
- ITAR eligibility: U.S. citizen/national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible for required State Department authorizations
- Master's degree or PhD in physics or an engineering discipline
- Very strong expertise in linear closed loop controls, state-space and frequency domain methods
- Expertise in state estimation (Kalman filters, information filters)
- Experience with flexible body dynamics and reduced finite element models in control analysis
- Strong embedded C++ experience for electromechanical control systems firmware
- Direct experience with spacecraft operations and flight software development, testing, and deployment
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
SpaceX Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about SpaceX and has not been reviewed or approved by SpaceX.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are a core part of total compensation, with periodic company-run tender offers that create liquidity before any public listing. These mechanisms can make the equity component feel materially valuable in practice.
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Healthcare Strength — The package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with on-site clinics and health resources at major sites. This breadth of coverage is presented as a strong element of the offering.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Major locations feature on-site amenities such as fitness facilities, food/coffee, clinics, and other conveniences. These lifestyle perks enhance day-to-day value alongside cash and equity.
SpaceX Insights
What We Do
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary. SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.
