Sr. Navigation Engineer (8-12 yrs)

Advanced Space | Full-time | Hybrid | Out of State Remote We’re going to the Moon. Think you’ve got what it takes? About the Role At Advanced Space, we're enabling humanity's return to the Moon and building the technologies that will take us to Mars and beyond. We're looking for a Sr. Navigation Engineer to lead the development of advanced spacecraft navigation solutions for some of the most ambitious missions in the space industry. This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You'll own navigation strategies across the full mission lifecycle—from early mission formulation through flight operations—while mentoring engineers, solving complex astrodynamics challenges, and helping shape the future of space exploration. We're looking for someone who thrives in technically demanding environments, enjoys tackling problems that haven't been solved before, and is excited to work alongside a team that's delivering real missions—not just concepts. This position is open to U.S. Persons (U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents) only. Visa sponsorship is not available. An active TS/SCI clearance is preferred but not required. About Advanced Space Advanced Space exists to enable the sustainable exploration, development, and settlement of space through innovative software, mission services, and technology solutions. As the owner and operator of NASA's CAPSTONE™ mission and the Prime Contractor for AFRL's Oracle mission, we're helping shape the future of cislunar exploration while supporting commercial, civil, and national security customers. Our team combines deep technical expertise with an entrepreneurial mindset. We move quickly, collaborate across disciplines, and empower every engineer to make meaningful contributions. If you're passionate about solving challenging problems and seeing your work fly in space, you'll fit right in. What You'll Actually Do Lead spacecraft navigation from concept through operations. Own navigation strategy across every phase of the mission, including formulation, tracking architecture, orbit determination, estimation approaches, maneuver support, and on-orbit operations. You'll be the technical leader ensuring our navigation solutions perform when it matters most. Build next-generation navigation solutions. Develop and validate advanced Kalman filter configurations for challenging mission environments including multi-body dynamics, low-thrust trajectories, weak observability, and deep-space operations. You'll architect solutions that integrate mission design, GNC, communications, and ground systems into a cohesive navigation approach. Own mission-critical flight operations. Serve as the primary navigation lead during mission preparation and flight operations. Support console activities, perform real-time orbit determination, respond to anomalies, and provide technical leadership during critical mission events. Drive technical excellence. Lead navigation analyses for major design reviews, communicate technical trades and mission risks, improve internal tools and operational processes, and help establish best practices that strengthen our navigation capabilities across the company. Grow the team and shape the future. Mentor junior engineers, review technical work, and contribute to proposal efforts and internal research initiatives that define the next generation of navigation technologies and missions. Who Thrives Here You have 8–12 years of experience in spacecraft navigation, orbit determination, flight dynamics, or a closely related discipline. You've led complex navigation efforts and are comfortable owning technical decisions from concept through flight. You have deep experience designing, tuning, and validating advanced Kalman filters across a variety of mission environments. You're experienced with industry-standard astrodynamics and navigation tools such as MONTE, FreeFlyer, ODTK, GMAT, or STK . You enjoy solving difficult technical problems and aren't intimidated by missions that push beyond tr…