Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations. Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams. As a Guidance Navigation Control (GNC) Engineer – Level 2 supporting a team located in McLean and Dulles, VA, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one.
This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work. This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.
The GNC team designs, builds, and tests spacecraft subsystems for a mix of DoD, NASA, and commercial customers. We are leaders in innovative solutions to the rapidly growing/evolving fields of space based autonomous rendezvous and docking and rapid design/production of small satellites.
Job Responsibilities
In this role you will:
- Design, analyze, and tune spacecraft attitude and position control loops using time and frequency domain techniques
- Design and analyze relative guidance solutions for Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO)
- Design, analyze, and tune sequential filters (e.g. Kalman filters) for attitude determination and relative navigation
- Analyze and test the spacecraft GNC subsystem performance using simulations and other analytic tools
- Perform analysis to support early design phase concept development including actuator sizing and placement, sensor selection and placement, attitude and position guidance, rendezvous, proximity operations and docking analyses, and predicted performance assessments
- Develop simulation models for sensors (e.g. star tracker, rate gyro, accelerometer, GPS, magnetometer, sun sensors), actuators (e.g. reaction wheel, torque bar, thruster, CMG), system dynamics (e.g. rigid body, multi-body, orbit mechanics, flexible models, propellant slosh), and the space environment (e.g. atmospheric, solar radiation pressure, third-body gravity, geopotential)
- Communication is a key element of your role and all GNC engineers are expected to:
- Apply engineering principles, industry standards, company process, and knowledge of vehicle dynamics, aerodynamics, propulsion, classical/modern control, and estimation theory to perform tasks to advanced program/project goals
- Document designs, analysis, and test results and create presentation materials
- Present designs, analysis, and test results to internal and external customers
- Work well within small- to medium-sized groups
This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work. This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.
This position is contingent upon the candidate verifying and/or obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company.
Basic Qualifications:
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government DoD Top-Secret (TS) security clearance and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) approval/access [TS/SCI] within a reasonable period of time. US citizenship is required.
- Level 2: Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 2 years of relevant engineering experience - OR - Master’s degree with a minimum of 0 years of relevant engineering experience [May consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of a completed degree]
- Experience developing software in MATLAB/Simulink and C/C++
- Experience in Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) subsystem design, analysis, and testing; can include Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS)
Preferred Qualifications:
- Active TS/SCI
- MS or PhD in engineering, physics, or math
- Experience with version control tools such as SVN or Git
- Experience implementing spacecraft GNC algorithms on embedded systems
- Strong technical fundamentals in the areas of spacecraft attitude and orbit dynamics, navigation filtering and/or control systems design
- Experience with on-orbit space vehicle operations, commanding, debugging, and use of flight telemetry to track performance metrics
- Experience with Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) algorithms, practices and planning strategies
- Experience with performing spacecraft GNC design, analysis, Hardware (HW) and Integration & Test (I&T), or flight operations.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities
- Previous/current membership or leadership roles in professional groups, clubs, or extracurricular activities are desired
If this job description reads like it was written specifically for you, consider joining our team!
Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below:
https://www.northropgrumman.com/space
Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.
Northrop Grumman Total Rewards
Primary Level Salary Range: $91,800.00 - $137,600.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.Skills Required
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government DoD Top-Secret (TS) security clearance and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) approval/access; U.S. citizenship required.
- Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 2 years relevant engineering experience OR Master's degree with 0 years (may consider 4+ years experience in lieu of degree).
- Experience developing software in MATLAB/Simulink.
- Experience developing software in C/C++.
- Experience in Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) subsystem design, analysis, and testing (including ADCS).
- Position is 100% onsite in McLean/Dulles, VA (cannot accommodate telecommute).
- Willingness/ability to work a 9/80 schedule (every other Friday off) and ~10% travel.
- Active TS/SCI (preferred).
- MS or PhD in engineering, physics, or math (preferred).
- Experience with version control tools such as SVN or Git (preferred).
- Experience implementing spacecraft GNC algorithms on embedded systems (preferred).
- Experience with on-orbit space vehicle operations, commanding, debugging, and use of flight telemetry (preferred).
- Experience with Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) algorithms and planning strategies (preferred).
- Experience with spacecraft GNC design, Hardware and Integration & Test (I&T), or flight operations (preferred).
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities (preferred).
- Previous/current membership or leadership roles in professional groups or extracurricular activities (preferred).
Northrop Grumman Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Northrop Grumman and has not been reviewed or approved by Northrop Grumman.
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Retirement Support — 401(k) matching is considered strong, with additional defined-benefit coverage for certain cohorts and options like catch-up contributions. Retirement programs are repeatedly highlighted as a core strength of the total rewards.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — PTO, company-paid holidays, and compressed work schedules (such as 9/80) provide meaningful time away and flexibility. These scheduling options are cited as a major quality-of-life benefit across many locations.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave alongside caregiver leave, adoption assistance, and back-up care supports a range of family needs. These programs have been expanded recently, signaling continued investment in family support.
Northrop Grumman Insights
What We Do
We are a close-knit community of big thinkers collaborating to keep the world safe. Our passion, creativity and expertise bring next-level technology solutions to life in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, space, and logistics and modernization for our customers around the globe. On the Northrop Grumman team, you’ll join our pursuit of excellence immersed in a dynamic culture of innovation and respect. Your unique perspective will help achieve our shared vision for the future of global security. Every step of the way, you'll be supported by world-class training, employee resource groups and a comprehensive benefits package that enables greater health and happiness for you and your family. Worldwide and across disciplines, we’re challenging what’s possible for technology to protect people and places from undersea to outer space and into cyberspace. And we see the impact of our performance every day. We are Northrop Grumman, and we work on what matters—now, you too can make a difference. Explore opportunities in engineering, IT, manufacturing, business management, cybersecurity and more with us. Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
