Senior GNC Engineer (Reentry)

Who We Are: 

Inversion builds advanced reentry systems to deliver next-generation capabilities from space. 

Our mission is to make Earth radically more accessible by turning Low-Earth Orbit into an on-demand logistics domain. We see space not as a destination, but as a platform — one that unlocks unprecedented speed and global reach. 

Our spacecraft are designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth in under an hour, operating through extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision. These systems open the door to new ways of testing, delivering, and operating at hypersonic speeds. 

Inherently dual-use, our technology is built to meet urgent national security needs while laying the groundwork for future commercial applications. Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working with partners such as the U.S. Space Force and NASA, Inversion is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space-based defense and logistics. 

What You'll Do 

As a Senior GNC Engineer at Inversion, you will report directly to the Senior Manager of Arc Vehicle Reentry. In this role, you will own the guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) algorithms that govern the hypersonic and supersonic phases of flight from reentry initiation down to main parachute deployment. You will design, model, and validate flight control laws, trajectory planning algorithms, and state estimation filters to safely maneuver through extreme aerothermal environments. Operating with high autonomy, you will build 6DOF simulation capabilities, evaluate control authority of flap actuators, and directly influence the vehicle's aerodynamic shape and trajectory architecture. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Design, implement, and tune guidance and control laws for high-speed hypersonic and supersonic reentry. 

• Develop robust state estimation algorithms, sensor fusion, and navigation filters utilizing IMU, GPS, and flight instrumentation. 

• Build, maintain, and scale high-fidelity 6DOF modeling and simulation environments to evaluate flight performance, control authority, and trajectory dispersion. 

• Analyze control-structure interactions and manage mechanical actuator requirements for hypersonic flaps and control surfaces. 

• Conduct comprehensive Monte Carlo dispersion analyses to prove vehicle reliability under aerodynamic, atmospheric, and mass properties uncertainties. 

• Support the deployment and testing of GNC flight software in Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) environments. 

• Collaborate with aerothermal, structures, and flight software teams to optimize vehicle design trades and trajectory constraints. 

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent technical experience. 

• Typically 5+ years of professional experience developing, testing, and deploying flight GNC algorithms for high-speed vehicles (launch, reentry, hypersonic, or tactical systems). 

• Strong fundamental understanding of classical and modern control theory, estimation algorithms, Kalman filtering, and rigid-body dynamics. 

• Proficiency in programming languages such as MATLAB, Python, or C++ for aerospace modeling, simulation, and analysis. 

• Experience with 6DOF trajectory simulation and Monte Carlo dispersion analysis. 

• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to lead multi-disciplinary technical trades. 

• This position is on-site at Inversion HQ in Playa Vista, CA. 

Desired Qualifications 

• Master’s or Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or a related field with a focus on flight mechanics, controls, or estimation. 

• Experience with flight control architectures for lifting-body or maneuverable reentry vehicles (such as flap control or reaction control systems). 

• Experience writing and testing GNC algorithms deployed to real-time embedded or compute-restricted flight computers. 

• Familiarity with aerodynamic modeling, CFD aerodynamic database integration, and high-speed flight physics. 

• Prior experience in a fast-paced startup environment. 

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-$199,000.  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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