GNC Intern (Fall 2026)
Rendezvous Robotics
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal"><em>Golden, CO | Full-Time | 12-15 Weeks | Fall 2026</em></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">Today, everything we send to space is constrained by what fits inside a rocket fairing. That's a fundamental bottleneck to building more capable spacecraft. Rendezvous Robotics is solving this problem with electromagnetic self-assembling tiles: modular spacecraft components that rendezvous, dock, and latch to assemble bigger and more powerful spacecraft than anything that can be folded to fit into a rocket.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">We're a small team based in Golden, Colorado, executing on a clear path from flight demonstration to our first operational systems. Our work spans hardware, software, and systems engineering. We are looking for the best people in the world who want to build the next generation of advanced spacecraft.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal"><span data-teams="true">As a GNC Intern, you will work on the dynamics and control of a reconfigurable spacecraft assembled from electromagnetically docked tiles. The physics cannot be borrowed wholesale from traditional spacecraft attitude control: docking dynamics are highly nonlinear, and the assembled vehicle's inertia and center of mass change as tiles dock and reconfigure. You will contribute to physics models, control and estimation algorithms, and the simulations that verify them — working alongside the GNC team and seeing your work run against hardware testbeds and eventually on-orbit</span></p> <p><strong>Responsibilities</strong></p> <ul> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="12:1-12:91;833-923"> <p>Develop physics models of electromagnetic docking dynamics</p> </li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="12:1-12:91;833-923"> <p>Support development of control algorithms for rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking</p> </li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="12:1-12:91;833-923"> <p>Work on attitude determination and control for individual tiles and the assembled spacecraft</p> </li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="12:1-12:91;833-923"> <p>Support trade studies and evaluation of the tile sensor suite</p> </li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="12:1-12:91;833-923"> <p>Build simulation tools and dashboards to verify GNC algorithms before hardware testing</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Basic Qualifications</strong></p> <ul> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="18:1-18:61;1145-1205"> <p>Currently pursuing a degree in aerospace/mechanical/electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, or other relevant engineering discipline, with coursework in dynamics and controls</p> </li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="18:1-18:61;1145-1205"> <p>Working knowledge of Python, C++, or MATLAB/Simulink for simulation and analysis</p> </li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="18:1-18:61;1145-1205"> <p>Understanding of rigid-body dynamics and basic electromagnet