Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is pioneering new ways to explore and operate on distant planetary bodies. We are singularly focused on designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi-purpose commercial planetary rovers to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system.

We are seeking motivated, creative, and exceptional people to join our world-class team. As the Principal GNC Engineer, 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. Lead the design, verification, validation, testing, and characterization of GNC and perception systems for manual, semi-autonomous, and autonomous rover operations in a fast-moving, schedule-constrained development environment.

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 Basic

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in a STEM related field Experience developing guidance, navigation, and control (GNC), perception, or autonomy systems for autonomous vehicles or robotic platforms Experience developing GNC software using C++ Experience leading engineering teams and delivering complex technical programs Experience supporting the full product development lifecycle, including system architecture, implementation, integration, testing, and operations Experience developing perception, navigation, or autonomy software, including sensor integration, localization, navigation, or path planning Experience designing and executing verification and validation testing for autonomy or navigation systems Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications