Optical Navigation Engineer
Houston, TX; Littleton, CO; Glen Burnie, MD; Phoenix, AZ; Remote
About Intuitive Machines:
Intuitive Machines is an innovative and cutting-edge space company making cislunar space accessible to both public and private customers. Our mission is to further science and exploration, communications, and economic progress from the Earth to the Moon and beyond. With multiple NASA lunar missions in development and additional private missions on our manifest, we pride ourselves in supporting NASA, our customers, and the nation in paving the way to return humans to the surface of the Moon. Our world-class team includes experts in all aspects of spacecraft subsystems design, development, and test, on-orbit operations, and safety.
KinetX Aerospace, a subsidiary of Intuitive Machines, is a trusted engineering services and product company specializing in space navigation, flight dynamics, mission operations, communications, and systems engineering. As the first private company qualified by NASA for deep-space navigation, KinetX has supported some of the world’s most complex planetary missions, including MESSENGER, New Horizons, OSIRIS-REx, Lucy, and LunaH-Map. With a proven record spanning Earth-orbiting, suborbital, commercial, international, and deep-space missions, KinetX provides end-to-end expertise from early mission design through flight operations. Its core capabilities include navigation and mission systems development, optical navigation, orbit determination, maneuver design, trajectory optimization, and constellation design and maintenance. Combined with Intuitive Machines’ spacecraft, network, and mission-operations capabilities, KinetX helps build, connect, and operate resilient space infrastructure for sustained exploration, advanced deep-space constellations, and communications networks.
About the Position:
We are seeking a talented and experienced Optical Navigation Engineer to play a key role on our Flight Dynamics - Interplanetary team. This position may be filled at Level II or Level III, with the scope of work and required experience described below.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and test ground-based and on-board optical navigation systems and flight software, including functional testing and flight validation. Use modeling and simulation to assess performance, reliability, and safety.
- Support commercial lunar programs including the NOVA lunar landers and interplanetary projects such as NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX and Lucy missions.
- Perform operational analyses, camera/system calibration, observation planning, and image processing; develop planetary shape models and digital terrain maps of asteroids and the Moon.
- Coordinate analyses with industry and mission partners. Work with spacecraft subsystem engineers, scientists, and other stakeholders to define mission requirements, evaluate design alternatives, and resolve subsystem interfaces.
- Develop maintainable analysis and operations software using unit testing, peer review, and configuration control. Troubleshoot technical issues and improve software, designs, and processes.
- Verify measurement accuracy and system performance against specifications, quality standards, and applicable aerospace and safety requirements. Identify discrepancies and mitigate technical risks.
- Prepare technical reports, software documentation, and presentations for the navigation team and project stakeholders/leadership; maintain accurate records of changes, results, and progress.
- Contribute to project planning, cost estimates, and schedules; prioritize work within budget and deadline constraints.
- Perform other duties as required.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s with minimum of 2-5+ years of experience, or Master’s with 0-2+ years of experience in the field or in a related area.
- Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Astrodynamics, Astronomy, Planetary Science, Optics, Physics, Computer Science, or related discipline.
- Knowledge of optical navigation with expertise in celestial navigation, terrain-relative navigation, observational astronomy, astrodynamics, computer vision (classical and/or AI/ML), or software engineering.
- Working knowledge of numerical optimization, probability and statistics, spacecraft systems, and attitude dynamics. Level III candidates should apply nonlinear estimation and understand interactions with orbit determination and trajectory design.
- Proficiency in Python and C/C++, with experience translating requirements into tested, documented software.
- Experience with Linux, Python package management such as Conda/mamba, and configuration management such as git.
- Strong analytical judgment, attention to detail, and familiarity with engineering quality and verification practices.
- Excellent technical, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate across disciplines and explain results to customers and mission partners.
- Demonstrated experience leading work groups and teams.
- Must be available to travel for team meetings and critical operations support as needed.
- Must be willing to cross-train in other deep space navigation disciplines as required to maintain our multi-mission workforce.
- Must be a US Citizen.
Preferred Requirements:
- PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Astrodynamics, Astronomy, Planetary Science, Optics, Physics, or related discipline.
- Experience with one or more of the following: astronomical image processing, planetary shape/terrain modeling, optical systems design and testing, camera calibration, statistical estimation, photometric analysis, deep space mission operations, embedded software development, space systems engineering, or space domain awareness.
- Experience with on-board spacecraft flight software development.
- Proficiency with Optical Navigation toolkits such as NASA’s GIANT API, and/or image processing toolkits such as OpenCV.
- Experience with the NAIF SPICE toolkit.
- Experience with NASA’s core Flight System (cFS) framework.
- Experience with image rendering tools such as Unreal Engine, VIRA, or vulkan.
- Experience with functional SWIL, real-time HWIL test environments, and/or physical flight or laboratory testing (such as aircraft or robotic testing).
US EEO Statement:
Intuitive Machines is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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