Q&A with Dillon Smith, GNC Engineer

Meet Dillon Smith, GNC Engineer at Apex!

Dillon brings several years of direct experience as a GNC Engineer from ABL, The Space Systems Design Laboratory, and Pratt & Whitney, where he implemented and tested GNC algorithms through software-in-the-loop (SITL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testing. He holds both a Bachelor's and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology.

As a GNC Engineer, Dillon is a part of the team that interacts with both hardware and software on a daily basis, collaborating across engineering disciplines to ensure that mission performance and success are achieved throughout the lifecycle of the bus. As a member of the GNC team, Dillon owns designing, implementing, and testing algorithms and hardware that are crucial to spacecraft flight and mission operations.

Learn more about Dillon below:

Q: What excites you the most about working at a company like Apex?

What's exciting to me is that Apex is a fast-acting company that's flipping the space industry on its head. I think producing standardized satellite buses to fit a wide variety of mission objectives instead of engineering individual spacecraft for single-use cases is an essential need in the space industry, and it's extremely exciting and rewarding to be a part of the team that is striving to make that happen.

Q: Why are you excited about space?

I've always had a love of space, as far back as I can remember. It originally started with fascination from reading sci-fi books and playing space-based video games while growing up, but it turned into real excitement when I realized I could help make some of those sci-fi concepts real through engineering. It's cliché to say, but space is the final frontier, and it's exciting to be a part of humanity's push to explore it.

Q: What’s something you learned in your most recent role that you’re bringing to Apex?

Other than strictly role-related technical skills, one of the most important things that I learned from my previous role was how to execute on broad and open-ended tasks to produce meaningful results. Most of the time when you’re starting fresh on an algorithm or analysis, there’s a lot of uncertainty in determining how to best approach it. Understanding how to identify the core need, methodology, and results is crucial and has proven essential here at Apex.

Q: How do you see the role of GNC Engineer at Apex, and how is it supporting the mass-manufacturing of Apex’s satellite platforms?

In my opinion, the role of a GNC engineer spans the worlds of both hardware and software while also requiring close collaboration with other engineering disciplines, which has definitely held true at Apex. Here, the GNC team owns designing, implementing, and testing both algorithms and hardware that play key roles in producing robust spacecraft in terms of mission capabilities. Being robust is what enables us to reduce non-recurring engineering efforts and to accelerate our satellite mass-manufacturing capabilities.

Q: What has surprised or impressed you the most so far during your time at Apex?

To me, the most impressive thing about Apex is the speed at which the team is able to produce high-quality results. This is really a testament to the caliber of the individuals at Apex in which everyone is extremely talented and driven in their roles. When faced with challenges, it's amazing to see everyone rally together to make Apex what it is.

Q: Tell us a bit about what you do in your free time.

For almost a decade I've been an avid weightlifter. I used to train for powerlifting but have since stepped off the gas and now train more as a hobby and to destress. I also love to cook (and eat) a variety of foods, read sci-fi and fantasy books, and spend time outdoors.