Senior Navigation Engineer
Full Job Posting
Responsibilities:
- Lead spacecraft navigation for all mission phases, including formulation, tracking architecture development, estimation approach, and operations.
- Develop and validate advanced Kalman filter configurations for complex regimes (multi-body, low-thrust, weak observability).
- Serve as primary navigation lead for flight operations operations prep, including console support, real-time OD, and anomaly response.
- Architect navigation solutions that account for mission design, GNC, communications, and ground system constraints.
- Own navigation products for major reviews, clearly communicating performance, trades, and risks.
- Mentor junior navigation engineers in OD, filter design, measurement modeling, and operations best practices.
- Drive improvements to navigation procedures, tool setups, and standard operating practices.
- Support BD and IRAD by shaping navigation concepts, contributing to proposals, and defining new mission and capability concepts.
Requirements:
- 8–12 years of professional experience in spacecraft navigation, orbit determination, or closely related flight dynamics roles.
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field.
- Demonstrated leadership of OD campaigns or major navigation tasks, including filter setup, force models, and tracking strategies.
- Proven ability to design and adapt Kalman filters for new dynamical and tracking regimes, including dynamic, bias, stochastic, and consider parameters.
- Significant experience with navigation/astrodynamics tools (e.g., MONTE, FreeFlyer, ODTK, GMAT, STK) in flight or flight-like applications.
- Strong navigation operations experience, including nav operator training/certification or equivalent console and contingency support.
- Ability to act as primary navigation point of contact, interacting with vendors and partners, driving requirements, owning verification/validation, and conducting system-level trades.
- Excellent written and verbal communication, with a record of leading technical presentations and navigation analysis reports.
- US. Person (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident), able to work on-site in Westminster, CO.
Desired:
Master’s or PhD with emphasis on Kalman filters, state estimation, or astrodynamics
Experience leading navigation support for maneuver planning and execution, including tracking schedule design and mission design trades.
Expertise across multiple measurement types (radiometric, GPS, optical, angles-only) and in designing measurement configurations.
Experience integrating navigation into system requirements, CONOPS, and ICDs, and leading navigation verification and reporting.
Demonstrated use of the MONTE astrodynamics toolkit
Leadership of navigation-related IRAD or proposal sections, shaping IRAD concepts and navigation win themes.
Familiarity with cislunar and deep-space navigation challenges, including three-body regimes, timing/clock issues, and tracking network limitations.
Familiarity with multi-spacecraft mission concepts
Active TS/SCI or prior clearance preferred.
About Red Canyon Engineering & Software
Private aerospace engineering and software services firm serving government agencies and commercial space companies with spacecraft technology.
Visit company websiteJobs and hiring trendsApply for this job in 1 click
Skip the repetitive application forms
Install the Base Career Chrome Extension and autofill job applications across major job boards with your profile.
Trusted by over 500,000 job seekers on Base Career
More from this employer