Varda Space
Guidance, Navigation & Controls (GNC) Internship - Spring 2027
El Segundo, California, United States · Internship · Posted Aug 7, 2026
- Experience
- Previous GNC internship; preferred: at least one year on a technical project team.
- Education
- Actively enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program.
- Visa sponsorship
- Must be lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. and qualify as a U.S. person: a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual admitted as a refugee or granted asylum.
About the job
Supports design, analysis, simulation, integration, and testing of guidance, navigation, and control systems for Varda’s reentry vehicles and flight missions.
What you'll do
- Develop or contribute to analyses, algorithms, and simulations for reentry vehicles, including trajectory optimization and dispersion analysis.
- Integrate and test GNC sensors, actuators, and software in simulation and hardware-in-the-loop environments.
- Develop autonomous guidance and control algorithms and mission-planning tools for satellite operations and reentry.
What they ask for
- Previous GNC internship.
- Familiarity with orbital mechanics, flight dynamics, trajectory design and optimization, feedback controls, 6DOF flight simulations, navigation solutions, GNC flight algorithms, and Monte Carlo analysis.
- Familiarity with C++ or python and modern software development principles.
- Must be actively enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program.
Nice to have
- At least one year of experience on a technical project team, such as CubeSat, Rocket Team, AIAA Design-Build-Fly, or Formula SAE.
- Experience with simulation or GNC tooling, Monte Carlo analysis, navigation filters, sensor/actuator integration, HIL simulation, or tools such as GMAT, POST2, MATLAB/Simulink, or custom orbital simulation frameworks.
Pay
$33.00 USD per hour (hourly rate)
Tools
C++, python, GMAT, POST2, MATLAB/Simulink
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative