Internship - Flight attitude estimation using GNSS

🚀 MaiaSpace is a European space tech company, designing, manufacturing and operating competitive and sustainable solutions for space mobility. We are driven by the belief that access to space is a major enabler for a better and more sustainable life on Earth, addressing the challenges faced by humanity: climate, resources, connectivity, and data. Our aim is to successfully design and test a cost-effective and reusable mini-launch vehicle by 2026.

Inside MaiaSpace development teams you will join the GNC team that defines the GNC algorithms for the whole ELV and RLV missions, integrates the algorithms in the Flight Engineering Simulator and runs the Validation Plan. Furthermore, this team is interfaced with many other launcher teams such as propulsion team, mission team or sensors and actuators teams, and is responsible of expressing requirements towards the system definition to ensure launcher controllability. As part of this team, you will be at the heart of the preparation for the first launches. 

Withing GNC team we propose the following training topic for 2026: 

In-flight attitude estimation using GNSS 

In collaboration with Navigation Engineers, you will be studying the possibility to estimate the attitude of the launcher using in-flight GNSS measurements. Depending on the needs and the available tools at the time of the internship, you will take part to one or more of the following tasks: 

• Tuning and analysis of Kalman Filter for state estimation 

• Study in-flight estimation of launcher’s attitude error and Inertial Measurement Unit defaults  

• Implementation of in-flight corrections of the Navigation solution 

• Embedded code generation from algorithmic mockups 

Note that despite working in the GNC team, this internship is entirely focused on Navigation algorithms.  

Skills 

• Proficiency in programming languages (Matlab, Simulink, C/C++, Python, ...). 

• Kalman filter theory 

• Space mechanics 

• Good English level 

Know-how  

• Autonomy and proactivity 

• Team spirit, sharing and solidarity 

• Curiosity, Adaptation 

• Rigor and precision 

Conditions 

• 6 months from Fabruary 2026

• Location : La Défense/Courbevoie 

🎬 Working at MaiaSpace:

You will be joining a friendly multi-disciplinary team, comprised of multi-skilled people, following Agile and Scrum methodologies. This means that your role and responsibility may evolve over time with varied assignments and challenges depending on priorities and competences. Your work will be hands-on and in close contact with the final product. We are open-minded, transparent, pragmatic, result oriented and people centric. Teamwork is at the heart of how we work together, and our co-workers share the same fundamental values: respect, humility, reactivity and autonomy with a passion for technical excellence. Our newly acquired office space at La Defense is located within the heart of Europe’s largest purpose built business and commercial district with easy access to public transport. Also, we have a second location integration site in Vernon (27). Regular trips between the two locations are to be expected. These displacements may be extended to Kourou when the time comes. The company allows home office when it is compatible with your responsibilities.

📢 We're hiring ! Check out our LinkedIn jobs page. ✨