Lead GNC and Perception Engineer

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is advancing how humanity explores and operates on other planetary bodies. We design, build, and operate multipurpose commercial planetary rovers that extend human capability beyond Earth.

We are looking for experienced, driven engineers to help lead this work forward. As the Guidance, Navigation, Control (GNC) and Perception Lead, you will own the GNC systems that enable Astrolab’s rovers to operate safely and effectively in extreme environments. You will lead technical strategy and execution across guidance, navigation, control, and perception while managing and mentoring a high-performing engineering team.

This role combines deep technical leadership with people leadership. You will set system vision, make critical design decisions, drive execution, and ensure autonomy systems perform reliably on flight-ready vehicles operating on the lunar surface.

Requirements

Balance performance, risk, and embedded compute constraints Ensure that rover GNC and perception systems support the required tele-operated, semi-autonomous, and fully autonomous vehicle operations Ensure the GNC team provides support during rover operations on the lunar surface 10+ years of experience developing GNC, perception, and autonomy systems for space vehicles, extraterrestrial rovers, or autonomous terrestrial vehicles Experience leading high-performing engineering teams and delivering complex technical programs under aggressive timelines and constrained resources Strong background supporting full vehicle development lifecycles, from architecture and trade studies through embedded implementation, verification, testing, and operations Deep expertise in perception and navigation systems, including sensor integration, image processing, localization, multi-sensor odometry, terrain-relative navigation, pose estimation, hazard detection, terrain mapping, and route planning Experience designing and executing autonomy and navigation test campaigns across simulation, lab, field, and analog environments and using statistical analysis methods such as Monte Carlo Hands-on experience developing and optimizing embedded autonomy, perception, and navigation software for compute- and power-constrained systems Familiarity with the unique challenges of extraterrestrial rover operations, including lunar terrain, lighting conditions, regolith, thermal constraints, limited power environments, and NASA mission assurance expectations Prior experience implementing and testing GNC and perception system software on real flight hardware or embedded platforms Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration Equity ownership in the company Comprehensive health

Benefits

, including med