ADCS · ADCS
Attitude Determination & Control Engineer
Engineer sensors, actuators and control laws that determine and control spacecraft orientation with high pointing accuracy.
Role mandate
Build the capability for the era ahead.
This team member will combine subject-matter depth, sound judgment and disciplined execution to move the mission from architecture to measurable results.
Responsibilities
- Own the ADCS workstream for Attitude Determination & Control Engineer and deliver measurable technical or operating outcomes.
- Develop subsystem models, performance margins and design trades tied to mission requirements.
- Plan analysis and testing for nominal, off-nominal and end-of-life conditions.
- Coordinate interfaces with spacecraft bus, payload, software, operations and launch teams.
Required qualifications
- Relevant engineering experience in GNC, flight dynamics, propulsion, thermal or mechanical spacecraft systems.
- Proficiency with analysis, simulation and verification methods used in the discipline.
- Strong understanding of margins, failure modes and configuration control.
Preferred experience
- Experience with spacecraft development, launch integration or on-orbit operations.
- Advanced degree or equivalent depth in the applicable engineering discipline.
Scientific and technical requirements
Physics, mathematics and engineering foundations
- Rigid-body dynamics, orbital mechanics, control theory, state estimation, sensor fusion and numerical integration.
- Linear algebra, differential equations, quaternions, probability/covariance and frequency-domain stability analysis.
Mathematics and working equations
- Rigid-body rotation: Iω̇ + ω × Iω = τ; quaternion kinematics q̇ = 1/2 Ω(ω)q.
- State estimation: x̂k|k = x̂k|k−1 + Kk(zk − Hx̂k|k−1), with covariance propagation and sensor-bias states.
- Control law τ = −Kp e − Kdω (or validated modern equivalent); verify gain/phase margins, saturation and momentum management.
- Navigation propagation ẋ = f(x,u,t) with measurement residuals, observability and covariance consistency.
Hardware, flight and infrastructure components
- Star tracker, sun sensor, GNSS receiver, magnetometer, gyro/IMU and horizon or fine-guidance sensor.
- Reaction wheels, control-moment gyros where applicable, magnetorquers, thrusters, wheel-drive electronics and onboard navigation computer.
Software, laboratory and analysis tools
- MATLAB/Simulink, Python/C++, Monte Carlo simulation, STK or GMAT, flight-dynamics libraries and hardware-in-the-loop testbeds.
Verification and mission skills
- Monte Carlo dispersions, sensor dropout, actuator saturation, wheel momentum buildup, jitter, safe-mode acquisition and closed-loop pointing stability.
Authoritative technical references
The hiring sequence will follow operating milestones and project requirements. The position may begin through advisory, consulting or project-based work before moving into a full-time role.
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