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Guidance, navigation and control

Space Jobs for GNC Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 248 open roles for GNC engineers on , including Muon Space, Outpost and Cowboy Space; typical pay across them is $143k to $243k a year (median $165k), topped by $330k a year advertised at Rocket Lab.

See 248 roles for GNC engineers
$143k–$243k/yrtypical paylive median $165k/yrup to $330k/yr at Rocket Lab

Measured from 123 distinct posted rates, across 39 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 123 of the 248 listings open here post no pay at all.

Launch and spacecraft companies hire GNC engineers to write the algorithms that steer a vehicle, and flight dynamics engineers to plan where it goes. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.

Live roles for GNC engineers

Updated 30 Oct 2026, 09:18 UTC

Flight dynamics, trajectory and mission design

62 open

Plan where a vehicle goes: trajectories, orbits, orbit determination and the design of the mission itself.

Show 52 more flight dynamics roles

Guidance, navigation and control

186 open

The algorithms that steer and stabilize a vehicle: attitude control, navigation filters, landing guidance and rendezvous.

Show 176 more GNC roles

Before you apply

Space hardware is built, tested and flown in person, so many roles name a factory, a test site, a launch site or a control room, and each listing states its location. US roles that touch export-controlled technology (ITAR or EAR) can ask that you be a U.S. person, and some ask for a security clearance. A real employer never charges you to apply, never interviews you only by chat app and never asks you to buy equipment.

Pay by specialty

Every specialty gets its typical band from its own open roles, computed by the same method as the rest of the site (the 25th percentile of what roles pay (the middle of each posted range, as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours, 40 a week for 52 weeks) to the 90th-percentile posted top). A specialty is listed once three or more distinct rates have been posted.

SpecialtyOpen rolesTypical payHighest rate
Flight dynamics, trajectory and mission design62$147k–$227k/yr$298k/yr
Guidance, navigation and control186$141k–$248k/yr$330k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 115 out of 248 open roles for GNC engineers, the same lines each role's pop-up quotes from its posting. Each role is counted once, at the lowest degree it will accept.

0

Ask for a PhD

16

Ask for a master's

89

Ask for at least a bachelor's

10

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience79
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)41
  • Name a security clearance17
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition13
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)9
  • Ask for a professional license1

Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 years.

Who hires GNC engineers in the space industry

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
Muon Space logoMuon Space8$83.2k–$298k/yr
Outpost logoOutpost1$150k–$180k/yr
Cowboy Space logoCowboy Space2$150k–$202k/yr
Amazon Leo logoAmazon Leo6$82.1k–$215k/yr
Astrolab logoAstrolab2$130k–$235k/yr
Portal Space Systems logoPortal Space Systems1$150k–$205k/yr
Turion Space logoTurion Space1$125k–$175k/yr
E-Space logoE-Space1$150k–$200k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space4$139k–$221k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space3$62.4k–$235k/yr
General Galactic logoGeneral Galactic1$140k–$220k/yr
Xona Space Systems logoXona Space Systems6$130k–$210k/yr
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries3$169k–$244k/yr
Apex logoApex4$100k–$260k/yr
Astra logoAstra1$115k–$140k/yr
Stoke Space logoStoke Space1$110k–$194k/yr
Impulse Space logoImpulse Space6$120k–$270k/yr
Quantum Space logoQuantum Space3$125k–$225k/yr
Vast logoVast1$160k–$227k/yr
CesiumAstro logoCesiumAstro2$113k–$161k/yr
Spire Global logoSpire Global2Not stated
Voyager Technologies logoVoyager Technologies1Not stated
Reflect Orbital logoReflect Orbital2$130k–$220k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space4$106k–$222k/yr
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin34$124k–$277k/yr
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly8$160k–$300k/yr
Firefly Aerospace logoFirefly Aerospace3Not stated
The Aerospace Corporation logoThe Aerospace Corporation12Not stated
Astroscale logoAstroscale7Not stated
Eutelsat logoEutelsat4Not stated
OHB logoOHB4Not stated
Exotrail logoExotrail3Not stated
ICEYE logoICEYE3Not stated
ClearSpace logoClearSpace2Not stated
European Space Agency (ESA) logoEuropean Space Agency (ESA)2Not stated
The Exploration Company logoThe Exploration Company2Not stated
Venus Aerospace logoVenus Aerospace2Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space1Not stated
Exos Aerospace logoExos Aerospace1Not stated
Foundational logoFoundational1Not stated
Isar Aerospace logoIsar Aerospace1Not stated
Leaf Space logoLeaf Space1Not stated
Reflex Aerospace logoReflex Aerospace1Not stated
Spaceium logoSpaceium1Not stated
SpaceWorks Enterprises logoSpaceWorks Enterprises1Not stated
Star Catcher logoStar Catcher1Not stated
Telesat logoTelesat1Not stated
Intuitive Machines logoIntuitive Machines10$100k–$135k/yr
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman8$129k–$194k/yr
Starfish Space logoStarfish Space1$100k–$180k/yr
L3Harris logoL3Harris1$80.5k–$150k/yr
Katalyst Space Technologies logoKatalyst Space Technologies4$90k–$280k/yr
ispace logoispace4Not stated
Boeing logoBoeing5$123k–$298k/yr
SpaceX logoSpaceX20$125k–$205k/yr
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile1Not stated
Rendezvous Robotics logoRendezvous Robotics1$95k–$170k/yr
Mission Control Space Services logoMission Control Space Services1Not stated
Virgin Galactic logoVirgin Galactic1$143k–$218k/yr
Blue Canyon Technologies logoBlue Canyon Technologies1Not stated
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab20$81k–$330k/yr
Iridium logoIridium1$90k–$120k/yr
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory3$146k–$223k/yr
Ursa Major logoUrsa Major1$146k–$183k/yr
Peraton logoPeraton2$66k–$106k/yr
Benchmark Space Systems logoBenchmark Space Systems1$160k–$210k/yr

Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). A referral agreement, if an employer has one, can raise it in this order but never changes the salary it offers.

Where these roles are posted

The US states with the most open roles for GNC engineers, and the roles posted for a single country. A place name leads to its own page, and a country's count lists the matching roles.

In the US, by state

Space industry jobs by US state

The public record, in every industry: 68,700 aerospace engineers work in the US (2025), projected to grow 8% by 2035, at a median $135k/yr (BLS, May 2025). Each state's page gives its own.

What our research measures about flight software work

Read from the open postings on 2026-10-29 by our space industry research, rebuilt every day. Every figure opens the row of the report it comes from.

Experienced in Flight Software & GNC?

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Frequently asked questions

How much do GNC engineers earn in the space industry?

Going by the 123 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for GNC engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $143k–$243k/yr and the median is $165k/yr. The top posted figure is $330k/yr, at Rocket Lab. 123 of the 248 open roles for GNC engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

What do GNC roles ask for?

Usually an aerospace, mechanical or electrical engineering degree with controls and dynamics, often a master's, and experience in the simulation and coding tools the role names. Every posting spells out its exact requirements and work site, so read each one. Of the 115 open roles for GNC engineers whose requirements we read, 16 a master's, 89 at least a bachelor's and 10 name no degree.

What does a GNC engineer do at a space company?

A GNC engineer designs, simulates and tests the guidance, navigation and control of a vehicle: how it knows where it is, where it should go and how it gets there, from a rocket's ascent to a booster's landing or a satellite's pointing. Flight dynamics engineers plan the trajectories and orbits and track the vehicle once it flies.

How do space companies hire GNC engineers?

Each employer runs its own hiring, and each listing says what it asks for: the degree or the hands-on experience, the location, and for export-controlled work in the US, often U.S. person status.

Are these jobs real?

Every role here is read from a space employer's own careers page or job board (Muon Space, Outpost, Cowboy Space and Amazon Leo among them), and each employer's page here covers who they are and how they hire. A real employer never charges you to apply, never asks you to buy equipment and never interviews you only by chat app.

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