Staff GNC Engineer

Vast Space

Pay

$177,016 - $280,000/yr

Shift

Standard

Type

Full Time

Posted Feb 5, 2026

REINDUSTRIALIZE

Forge the future of artificial-gravity systems for Vast Space in Long Beach, where Haven Station modules are meticulously designed and built. As a Staff GNC Engineer, you will wield your expertise to calibrate and fine-tune the guidance, navigation, and control algorithms that ensure crew safety and station stability. Work alongside the Vice President, Flight Dynamics & GNC, to integrate and test hardware-rich systems that mimic Earth’s gravity in space. This is where humanity’s first commercial space stations get built.

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About This Role

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.

Vast is looking for a Staff GNC Engineer reporting to the Vice President, Flight Dynamics & GNC, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities:

Maintain and expand high fidelity GNC simulation architecture.
Develop and validate additional models for GNC simulations, including hardware-in-the-loop testing.
Design, implement and validate GNC flight software.
Develop control laws to meet vehicle performance and stability margin requirements.
Support flight activities and analyze flight performance data.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline.
10+ years of experience.
Excellent C/C++ programming skills.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

Master’s degree or PhD in a STEM discipline.
Python programming skills.
Excellent communication, analysis, and problem-solving skills.
Experience in orbital mechanics as well as attitude dynamics and control.
Experience using linear control principles and tools to design feedback control systems.
Experience analyzing non-linear simulations of closed-loop dynamics.
Working knowledge of outer loop control law performance requirements.
Experience using MATLAB to create, process, analyze, and visually represent data.
Experience using Simulink to model dynamic systems.

Pay Ranges:

Staff GNC Engineer: $185,000 - $240,000
Principal GNC Engineer: $215,000 - $280,000

Pay Range: California

$185,000—$280,000 USD

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.

U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Requirements

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
Maintain and expand high fidelity GNC simulation architecture.
Develop and validate additional models for GNC simulations, including hardware-in-the-loop testing.
Design, implement and validate GNC flight software.
Develop control laws to meet vehicle performance and stability margin requirements.
Support flight activities and analyze flight performance data.
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline.
10+ years of experience.

About Vast Space

Technology company in Long Beach, CA.

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