Recent Graduate - Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer

Employer description

Katalyst Description:

Katalyst is an American technology company focused on dynamic space operations.  We are building a fleet of dual-use multipurpose robotic space vehicles to create the future where maneuvering, upgrading, refueling, resupply and exploration are as routine as they are on Earth. Getting to space and overcoming the gravity well is only half the story. What you do there is the future. We are not building the trains. We are building the machines that lay down the tracks. By developing the foundational capabilities that make sustained, responsive operations possible, we enable a new era of space exploration that strengthens national security and ensures freedom of action in an increasingly contested domain.

Katalyst Culture:

Working at Katalyst is intense, hands-on, and deeply rewarding. You’ll take real ownership and see your work move from concept to operations in an environment where the problems are hard and the impact is real. We value humility, craftsmanship, and doing things the right way, even when it’s harder. You’ll work closely with thoughtful, driven teammates who push each other to do their best.  Oh, and we're dog friendly!  

Benefits:

• Stock options & equity
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k)
• Unlimited PTO
• Catered lunches

What You’ll Do 

• Contribute directly to the design, development, analysis, integration, test, and operation of spacecraft Guidance, Navigation & Control systems. 

• Own well-scoped GNC problems from definition through modeling, algorithm development, simulation, test, documentation, and closure with support from senior engineers. 

• Work hands-on with simulation environments, flight and test data, hardware-in-the-loop or software-in-the-loop tools, sensor and actuator interfaces, and mission-analysis outputs. 

• Participate in design reviews, test campaigns, anomaly investigations, and mission-readiness activities; communicate GNC performance, risks, assumptions, and decisions clearly. 

• Collaborate across software, avionics, mechanical, propulsion, systems, and mission operations to understand interfaces and system-level impacts on GNC performance. 

• Build engineering judgment by comparing analytical models and simulations against test or operational data, identifying discrepancies, and iterating toward reliable flight performance. 

• Document models, algorithms, assumptions, requirements, interfaces, Monte Carlo results, test results, procedures, and technical decisions so others can review and reproduce the work. 

• Take increasing ownership as technical capability grows, progressing from supervised analysis and implementation tasks toward independent feature-, algorithm-, or subsystem-level responsibility. 

• Support spacecraft mission execution by helping translate mission objectives and constraints into credible GNC analyses, algorithms, test plans, and operational recommendations. 

What We’re Looking For 

Required 

• Bachelor's degree completed, or expected before start date, in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Math, Physics, Robotics, or a closely related technical field. 

• Strong academic or project-based grounding in rigid-body dynamics, controls, estimation, navigation, orbital mechanics, numerical methods, or related GNC fundamentals, with the ability to explain technical reasoning from first principles. 

• Demonstrated hands-on GNC experience through internships, research, student spacecraft or robotics teams, capstone projects, personal projects, laboratories, or prior employment. 

• Ability to break down ambiguous GNC problems, identify assumptions, build appropriate models, make reasonable tradeoffs, and validate work through simulation, test, or data. 

• Clear written and verbal technical communication, including the ability to explain what was personally modeled, coded, analyzed, tuned, tested, or debugged versus what was completed by a team. 

• Comfort learning new spacecraft dynamics, sensors, actuators, software tools, and mission concepts quickly in an environment where responsibilities may evolve with program needs. 

• Ability to collaborate closely with software, avionics, propulsion, mechanical, systems, and mission-operations engineers and accept direct technical feedback without losing ownership of the problem. 

• Ability to comply with applicable export-control requirements and customer-access restrictions. 

Your Ideal Background 

Preferred  

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