Full-Time

GNC Engineer

Updated on 5/9/2026

Reflect Orbital

Reflect Orbital

51-200 employees

Space-based mirrors delivering sunlight-on-demand

Compensation Overview

$130k - $220k/yr

West Athens, CA, USA

In Person

Category
Aerospace Engineering (2)
,
Required Skills
Quality Assurance (QA)
Requirements
  • 4–6 years of professional GNC engineering experience, ideally on spacecraft or other dynamically controlled vehicles
  • Clear prior technical ownership of functioning vehicle controllers and sim (I designed and simulated the GNC for “xyz” vehicle)
  • Experience bringing up sim environments from scratch, opinionated/familiar with best practices.
  • Experience with implementing attitude control and/or estimation algorithms on spacecraft
  • Experience with verification and validation of GNC flight software in an integrated environment, leveraging 6-DOF simulation and HITL testing.
Responsibilities
  • Develop and own our 6-DOF simulation for understanding vehicle attitude, station-keeping, and orbital performance.
  • Design and implement controllers on hardware going to space by actually writing software yourself
  • Use simulation to constrain and inform ADCS design
  • Work closely with avionics engineers to have performant, reliable attitude determination and control
  • Analyze orbits, constellation designs, trajectories and attitude motion profiles to maximize vehicle service performance
  • Contribute to high-level vehicle architecture decisions
  • Support prototyping, implement controllers on prototype hardware
  • Come up with creative solutions to novel problems that surround precisely putting a spot of reflected sunlight on the ground from space

Reflect Orbital aims to provide Sunlight-as-a-Service by deploying a constellation of satellites with large Mylar mirrors that reflect sunlight onto Earth after dark. The system uses mirrors in low Earth orbit to target ground sites during nighttime or pre-dawn/post-sunset periods, enabling solar farms to extend operation hours and offering on-demand illumination for industries and emergencies. It differentiates itself by owning orbital assets and launch capabilities to control timing and targeting, monetizing space-based daylight rather than upgrading ground infrastructure. The goal is to deliver a scalable, reliable source of supplemental daylight and lighting from space to improve grid resilience and broaden energy and lighting options.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$6.5M

Headquarters

Santa Monica, California

Founded

2021

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Solar farms increase capacity factor and revenue without ground infrastructure modifications or upgrades.
  • 260,000+ inquiries by end-2025 across construction, search-and-rescue, military, and disaster relief sectors.
  • Planned Eärendil-1 mid-2026 mission demonstrates prototype capabilities across ten global locations simultaneously.

What critics are saying

  • Prototype deployment failures delay commercialization beyond Spring 2026, eroding investor confidence significantly.
  • Dark sky advocates and environmentalists file lawsuits citing light pollution visible over 100km.
  • FAA and FCC deny orbital slot approvals citing aviation hazards from unexpected nighttime glare.

What makes Reflect Orbital unique

  • Orbital mirror constellation reflects sunlight on-demand to extend solar farm operations after sunset.
  • Former SpaceX and Zipline engineers leverage reduced launch costs for constellation economics viability.
  • AFWERX Phase II SBIR contract validates Department of Air Force energy resilience applications.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

-2%

2 year growth

13%
Castle Placement
Jun 11th, 2025
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Heron Power, foundational technology designed to meet complex energy demands, raised $43.25 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by Capricorn Investment Group.

PR Newswire
Jun 3rd, 2025
Reflect Orbital Selected For Sbir Phase Ii Contract By Afwerx To Advance Satellite-Based Sunlight Redirection Technology

Technology to support energy resilience and responsive lighting for critical Department of the Air Force operationsHAWTHORNE, Calif., June 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Reflect Orbital announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a Phase II SBIR contract in the amount of $1.25 million focused on its sunlight on demand satellite reflector technology to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now on May 14, 2025, Reflect Orbital will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America."This award validates the critical national need for nighttime energy and light, and reflects our belief that scalable, space-based solutions can deliver responsive light and energy anywhere on Earth," said Ben Nowack, CEO and Co-founder of Reflect Orbital. "We're thankful for the vote of confidence from the Department of the Air Force to advance energy independence and resilience."The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.About Reflect OrbitalReflect Orbital is building a constellation of satellites to deliver sunlight on demand. Using advanced reflector technology and large deployable structures, its satellites transform into precise orbital mirrors, creating a new category of space-enabled infrastructure

Reflect Orbital
May 15th, 2025
Announcing Our $20m Series A

Sunlight after dark

PR Newswire
May 14th, 2025
Reflect Orbital Secures $20 Million in Series A Funding Led by Lux Capital

Reflect Orbital secures $20 million in Series A funding led by Lux Capital.

Investors Hangout
May 14th, 2025
Reflect Orbital Secures $20M for Satellite Tech

Reflect Orbital has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Lux Capital, with contributions from Sequoia Capital and Starship Ventures. The funding will support the development of a satellite constellation to deliver sunlight on demand, aiming to transform energy access. The first satellite launch is planned for Spring 2026, with services targeting various sectors. Reflect Orbital is expanding its workforce and invites interested professionals to explore career opportunities.