GNC/AOCS Systems Engineer

iSpace, Inc.

Apply to this job
Tokyo, Japan hybrid Until 8/22/2026 3+ years exp First posted May 15, 2026 Last posted May 15, 2026
Job description

ispace is seeking a highly motivated and talented GNC Systems Engineer to join the System Design Group under the Global Design division, responsible for the design and development of lunar landers and other transportation and/or communication/navigation platforms.

The ideal candidate will have in-depth experience on GNC (AOCS) design, implementation, integration, V&V and operations, good technical knowledge of multiple spacecraft subsystems and experience in the system engineering disciplines for spacecraft design.

This is a unique opportunity to join a truly fascinating project, the first stage of ispace’s plans to perform resource prospecting on the moon. In this position, you will be assigned to one or more of ispace's projects, and join a small, international team of engineers working towards the detailed design and qualification of our first missions.

Candidates with demonstrated "hands-on" experience in some engineering domains and interdisciplinary experience are preferred. Teamwork is valued, and depending on the strengths of each member of the systems engineering team, the responsibilities listed below will be assigned accordingly.

Key responsibilities

  • Support the definition of a “product baseline”, creating standard requirements, system architecture, ICDs, design and analysis goals, test plans and operations concepts.
  • Perform system level trade-offs, coordinating inputs from various disciplines within the team, to evaluate any proposed changes of the design baseline to satisfy the need of each individual mission.
  • Take ownership of the technical budgets, such as mass, propellant budget, pointing/landing accuracy for spacecraft performance.
  • Ensure internal interfaces between various spacecraft subsystems are maintained.
  • Contribute to requirements management ensuring all requirements are closed-out at the planned project landmarks.
  • Contribute to risk assessments during the spacecraft development and support the Project Manager in defining risk mitigation plans
  • Support AIT/Flight&Test Operations Groups and subsystem leads in defining test plans and specifications which will successfully verify the spacecraft design.
  • Coordinate efforts between relevant subsystems and Operations Team in defining a spacecraft operational concept.
  • Contribute to the maintenance of our Model-Based Systems Engineering tools and the integration.

Required Skills

  • Bachelor or Masters degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace Engineering or equivalent
  • 3+ years of experience in at least two of the following:  design, implementation, integration, V&V or operations of GNC (AOCS) subsystem
  • Experience with programming languages such as Matlab, Python, or equivalent
  • Self-motivated and comfortable making key decisions within a fast-paced environment
  • High sense of accountability and ownership
  • Excellent presentation skills, both verbally and written. Enthusiastic attitude and team player
  • Working level in English

Preferred skills

  • Experience with design, analysis or testing of at least one other subsystem: Structure, Thermal, Avionics, Propulsion, Communications, On-board software.
  • Experience with requirement decomposition (mission all the way to unit level)
  • Experience performing FMECA, reliability analysis, and/or hazard analysis
  • Experience with system level testing such as hardware-in-the-loop testing
  • Experience with spacecraft operations
  • Working level Japanese
This position is based in Tokyo, Japan and will require relocation for overseas candidates.
About this role

Summary

Design, develop, and integrate spacecraft GNC systems for lunar mission projects.

Job title

GNC/AOCS Systems Engineer

Experience level

3+ years

Minimum experience

3+ years exp

Industry

space

Location requirements

Tokyo, Japan; relocation required; remote not specified

Salary

Not specified

Management role

No

Skills & keywords

Required skills

Mechanical EngineeringElectrical EngineeringAerospace EngineeringMatlabPython

Preferred skills

structurethermalavionicspropulsioncommunicationssoftwareFMECAreliability analysishardware-in-the-loopspacecraft operationsJapanese

Specializations

GNCAOCSspacecraft subsystemssystem engineering
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Tokyo, Japan

Hybrid City