Capella is at the forefront of making vital information about our world accessible in a timely manner. We’re leveraging proven technologies and building new capabilities to create a constellation of SAR satellites that can collect information about any spot on the planet within an hour. 

At Capella you’ll be working in a collaborative team environment, alongside smart people with a history of space mission success. No prior space experience is needed—we’re looking for people excited about tackling seemingly impossible challenges, learning new skills and concepts, and helping each other achieve success. 

Our mission and our products are meant to understand the whole world and help everyone in it, regardless of race, creed, or any other distinction. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we encourage all people to join our team and bring their unique perspective to help make us stronger. We value diversity at Capella and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply! 

About the Team

The GNC Team is responsible for orbit determination, satellite maneuver planning and characterization, and constellation coverage analysis and planning.  This team interfaces with many other teams at the company, including but not limited to the Satellite Operations, Tasking & Scheduling, Ground Software, and ADCS teams.  The GNC team owns and manages several software components that are part of the operational ground system, both libraries and services that produce and orchestrate state data, automated collision avoidance, automated orbit attainment & keeping.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced leader with a background in astrophysics or spacecraft guidance, navigation and control to lead our GNC team.  You’ll be responsible for day to day management of the team, execution and delivery of various projects, and both technical and people mentorship.

We’re searching for an empathetic leader who values diversity, fairness, and has a proven ability to lead and grow high-performing and happy teams.

What you’ll do

• You will lead a team of astrodynamics and GNC experts to execute a number of different operational and analysis projects including spacecraft state determination, management & propagation; collision avoidance, orbit selection, orbit maintenance, and various studies in support of proposals.
• You will organize and direct the team’s efforts in the context of company-level priorities to provide the greatest value and most-important results to Capella.
• You will represent the team in higher-level planning and prioritization discussions.
• You will encourage and reinforce software development best practices
• You will manage the career development and provide mentorship for those on your team.
• You will occasionally be on-call to respond to real-time issues with satellite orbit determination or maneuver execution.

What you’ll bring

• Experience working with satellite orbit determination, guidance, or control systems
• Experience leading a team of 3+ engineers on technical projects (software development projects)
• Knowledge of best software development practices and experience implementing them
• Experience working within a distributed software system — REST APIs, monitoring tools, dashboards, etc.
• Proficiency with Python or a similar language
• Familiarity with Low Earth Orbit satellite guidance and navigation
• Understanding of the modern space safety environment (CDMs, COLA maneuvers, space situational awareness tools)
• Experience working real-time satellite operations

In addition to an opportunity to take part in an innovative and fast-growing business with a highly motivated and skilled team, we also take pride in taking care of our employees. Here are just a few ways that we show our appreciation: 

• Medical/Dental/Vision
• Disability and Life Insurance
• 401k plan
• Equity
• Health Care, Dependent Care FSAs 
• Commuter/Parking Flex Spending
• Flexible vacation policy
• In-office lunch program
• Dog friendly work environment (SF)