Job brief: GNC Engineer, ADCS (Starshield)

What JoRoute checked · Checked by JoRoute

• Listed on SpaceX's own job board. JoRoute does not take listings from job ads or recruiters.
• First seen by JoRoute 2026-11-04 (3 days ago); last confirmed on the board 2026-11-06.
• The apply link opens boards.greenhouse.io, the address SpaceX's board gives for this job.
• No other listing with this title and place on this board in the last 90 days.
• No layoff notices (WARN) under this name in the state files JoRoute reads.

What the listing says · Employer's own words, not checked

• Pay: $125,000 to $195,000 a year
• Job type: Not stated
• Where: Hawthorne, CA
• Posted: 2026-08-31 · over 60 days ago

What the job asks · Employer's own words, not checked

Level: Not stated. The posting does not state a level or years of experience.

Must have

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, computer science/software engineering, or an engineering discipline
• Master's or PhD in aerospace engineering, computer science/software engineering, or an engineering discipline
• Active Top Secret, Top Secret SCI, or DOE Level Q clearance, or the ability to obtain and maintain one
• An active clearance may provide the opportunity for you to work on sensitive SpaceX missions; if so, you will be subject to pre-employment drug and random drug and alcohol test
• Those with an active clearance will receive a 10% differential, up to an additional $20,000 annually, once officially briefed into a classified program.
• Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S.

Conditions

• Able to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support critical path development and/or critical on-orbit operations
• You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.
• employment with SpaceX 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/…

Main duties

• Design and implementation of satellite GNC software that can facilitate all mission concepts of operations across all phases of flight, including off-nominal…
• Design of concepts of operations (CONOPs) that intelligently balance thermal constraints, power budgets, momentum management, satellite-to-ground and satelli…
• Design, development, and flight software implementation of onboard GNC algorithms to achieve a high level of vehicle autonomy and fault tolerance while provi…
• Update and maintain GNC software configurations for a variety of minor satellite design revisions and mission sets
• High fidelity time domain 6DOF modeling and simulation of satellite dynamics, sensors, actuators, algorithms, and all of their interactions

Lines copied from the posting, not rewritten. "Preferred" or "nice to have" items are not listed as must-haves.

How it compares · Compared by JoRoute from listings

• Typical listed pay for engineer jobs in California: $181k a year (2,177 listings, 74 employers). This listing is 11% lower.
• Across SpaceX's 2,895 open listings, 60% of those with a posting date were first posted more than 60 days ago. How SpaceX hires

What nobody outside the employer knows · Not known

• Whether the role is already filled or on hold: employers often leave listings up.
• How many people applied, and who reads the applications.
• Where in the published range an offer would land.

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1. Is this role still open, and when do you hope to fill it?
2. What are the interview steps, and when should I expect to hear back?

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