# Founding Lead GNC Engineer at Pillar Space Systems

- Company: Pillar Space Systems
- What the company does: Reusable satellites that stay in orbit — rentable infrastructure for microgravity manufacturing. You bring the payload; the spacecraft is already there. Backed by South Park Commons.
- Company website: https://pillarspace.com
- Type: Startups
- Level: Senior
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Work setup: Remote
- Pay: $185K to $275K base salary per year (USD)
- Posted: 2026-06-18
- Apply by: 2026-10-08
- Apply: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/pillarspace/6c934747-48f9-4893-b47e-f486a9288c61
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/pillar-space-systems-founding-lead-gnc-engineer/

## About the role

We are seeking a Lead Founding GNC Engineer to own guidance, navigation, and control from first principles for autonomous spacecraft, across rendezvous, proximity operations, and related autonomous flight operations. This is a senior technical leadership role. You will not only define and execute the GNC architecture, but also help build the engineering team, set technical standards, mentor engineers, and establish the systems, processes, and culture required to develop flight-grade autonomous spacecraft.

## What they're looking for

- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Controls, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline
- 8+ years of experience designing, simulating, implementing, testing, or flight-qualifying GNC algorithms for spacecraft, launch vehicles, hypersonic/reentry systems, autonomous aircraft, robotics, or other high-reliability autonomous systems
- Prior experience leading technical workstreams, managing engineers, mentoring junior and mid-level engineers, or building high-performing engineering teams
- Demonstrated ability to own complex technical systems from early architecture through implementation, test, validation, and operational readiness
- Strong fundamentals in orbital mechanics, control theory, estimation, dynamics, linear algebra, numerical methods, and sensor fusion
- Experience with GNC simulation, including 6-DOF dynamics, closed-loop simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, dispersions, and off-nominal testing

Tags: Engineering