Guidance, navigation and control
Space Jobs for GNC Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 148 open roles for GNC engineers on 29 space industry employers, including Muon Space, Outpost and Turion Space; their typical pay runs $132k to $221k a year, with a median of $160k, and the highest advertised rate is $298k a year at Muon Space.

On-Orbit Test Astrodynamics Engineer (opens the job details)
Northrop Grumman · Flight Software · United States-Colorado-Colorado Springs· today

Boeing · Flight Software · USA - El Segundo, CA· today

Astrodynamics Engineer (Lead/Senior) - Millennium Space Systems (opens the job details)
Boeing · Flight Software · USA - El Segundo, CA· today
Measured from 73 distinct posted rates, across 15 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 73 of the 148 open roles here state no pay.
Launch and spacecraft companies hire GNC engineers to write the algorithms that steer a vehicle, and flight dynamics engineers to plan where it goes. Every role is checked against its employer's job board every hour.
Live roles for GNC engineers
Updated 29 Oct 2026, 15:01 UTCSome links on this site are referral links. If you sign up through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what an employer pays you.
Flight dynamics, trajectory and mission design
31 openPlan where a vehicle goes: trajectories, orbits, orbit determination and the design of the mission itself.

On-Orbit Test Astrodynamics Engineer (opens the job details)
Northrop Grumman · Flight Software · United States-Colorado-Colorado Springs· today

Astrodynamics Engineer (Lead/Senior) - Millennium Space Systems (opens the job details)
Boeing · Flight Software · USA - El Segundo, CA· today

Astrodynamics Software Integration Engineer II (opens the job details)
Blue Origin · Flight Software · Denver, CO, United States· today


Mission Design and Ground Navigation Engineer (opens the job details)
Blue Origin · Flight Software · Greater Seattle Area· today

Mission Design Engineer (opens the job details)
Blue Origin · Flight Software · Denver, CO, United States· today



Principal Software Engineer, Mission Design (opens the job details)
Muon Space · Software & IT · San Jose, CA, United States· 6d agoDetails
$266,000–$298,000/yr
Mission Design Engineer (opens the job details)
Outpost · Launch & Ops · Los Angeles, California· 1w agoDetails
$150,000–$180,000/yr
Guidance, navigation and control
117 openThe algorithms that steer and stabilize a vehicle: attitude control, navigation filters, landing guidance and rendezvous.

Boeing · Flight Software · USA - El Segundo, CA· today




Principal Engineer - Position, Navigation, Timing (PNT) - TeraWave (opens the job details)
Blue Origin · Flight Software · Greater Seattle Area· today





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
Each specialty's typical pay is measured over its own open roles the way every band on this site is (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), and shown only where at least three distinct rates are posted.
| Specialty | Open roles | Typical pay | Highest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flight dynamics, trajectory and mission design | 31 | $136k–$226k/yr | $298k/yr |
| Guidance, navigation and control | 117 | $132k–$221k/yr | $260k/yr |
What the roles ask for
Read from the requirements of 18 of the 148 open roles for GNC engineers: the lines each role's pop-up lists from its posting. A role counts once, at the lowest degree it accepts.
- Name years of experience13
- Ask for coding (Python, SQL and the like)7
- Name a security clearance4
- Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)3
The roles that name experience ask for a median of 5 years.
Who hires GNC engineers in the space industry
| Employer | Open roles | Pay stated |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | $83.2k–$298k/yr | |
| 1 | $150k–$180k/yr | |
| 1 | $100k–$135k/yr | |
| 4 | $139k–$221k/yr | |
| 6 | $130k–$210k/yr | |
| 3 | $169k–$244k/yr | |
| 3 | $62.4k–$235k/yr | |
| 4 | $100k–$260k/yr | |
| 1 | Not stated | |
| 1 | $100k–$180k/yr | |
| 8 | Not stated | |
| 3 | Not stated | |
| 34 | Not stated | |
| 8 | Not stated | |
| 3 | Not stated | |
| 2 | Not stated | |
| 2 | Not stated | |
| 1 | Not stated | |
| 1 | Not stated | |
| 1 | Not stated | |
| 20 | $125k–$205k/yr | |
| 2 | Not stated | |
| 1 | Not stated | |
| 1 | Not stated | |
| 3 | $146k–$223k/yr | |
| 1 | $146k–$183k/yr | |
| 4 | $106k–$148k/yr | |
| 1 | $160k/yr | |
| 20 | $81k–$195k/yr |
Ordered by what applying is worth, lifted by a referral boost for the employers that pay us a referral fee; it never changes what an employer pays you.
Where these roles are posted
Roles an employer posts for one country, and roles whose title names a language. Each place opens its own page; each count opens these roles.
Roles posted for one country
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Frequently asked questions
How much do GNC engineers earn in the space industry?
Across the 73 distinct hourly rates posted for roles for GNC engineers right now, typical pay runs from $132000 to $221000 an hour, with a median of $160000. The highest posted rate is $298000 an hour, at Muon Space. 73 of the 148 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. Each listing states what it requires and where it is based. Of the 18 open roles for GNC engineers whose requirements we read, 2 a master's, 13 a bachelor's or a degree and 3 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, Turion Space and Inversion Space 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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