GNC Engineer, Missile Defense

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own all aspects of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) system development for missile systems, including architecture definition, algorithm design, verification, hardware integration, flight test support, and operational deployment.
• Design, test, and validate GNC flight software and embedded algorithms for missiles operating across multiple flight regimes and environmental conditions.
• Develop and maintain navigation and state estimation algorithms, including sensor fusion frameworks (e.g., EKF, UKF, particle filters) integrating IMU, GPS/INS, seeker data, and other sensor modalities to provide high-rate, high-accuracy state estimates throughout the engagement timeline.
• Develop guidance laws (proportional navigation, augmented PN, optimal guidance) and autopilot designs; implement them in flight software; verify performance and robustness through high-fidelity 6-DOF simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight test correlation.
• Design, implement, and maintain high-fidelity simulation environments capturing aerodynamics, propulsion, atmospheric effects, target dynamics, sensor models, and actuator dynamics for SIL, HIL, and mission analysis across the full flight envelope.
• Utilize frequency-domain and time-domain control analysis techniques to ensure stability margins.
• Develop terminal guidance algorithms for intercept of maneuvering targets, including target tracking, aimpoint selection, miss distance prediction, time-to-go estimation, and endgame steering logic.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or related field
• 5+ years of relevant GNC engineering experience in the aerospace and defense industry, preferably with tactical missile systems, interceptors, or guided munitions
• Coursework or project experience in flight dynamics, aerodynamics, control systems, and state estimation
• Strong understanding of physics, rigid body dynamics, intercept geometry, proportional navigation, and real-time software development principles
• Experience with C++ and/or Python for algorithm development, numerical methods, real-time control, or simulation
• Familiarity with missile GNC concepts including guidance laws, autopilot design, sensor fusion, inertial navigation, seeker operation, and aerodynamic/thrust vector control
• Exposure to filtering and estimation methods (e.g., Kalman filters, complementary filters, INS/GPS integration) through internships, coursework, or projects
• Ability to build, test, and debug flight software, real-time control systems, and simulation tools
• Strong analytical skills with emphasis on dynamics, controls, and numerical methods; ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary engineering environment
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of complex technical problems and drive solutions from concept through flight test
• Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI US government security clearance

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, control systems, or equivalent discipline
• Experience with terminal guidance algorithms, proportional navigation variants, optimal guidance theory, or modern guidance techniques
• Experience developing autopilot designs for agile missiles including gain scheduling, adaptive control, or nonlinear control methods
• Experience with INS/GPS integration, sensor calibration, alignment algorithms, and error budget analysis
• Experience with aerodynamic modeling, CFD correlation to flight data, or aeroservoelastic analysis
• Experience developing and executing hardware-in-the-loop test campaigns with flight representative GNC hardware
• Flight test experience including test planning, instrumentation selection, telemetry analysis, and flight data reconstruction
• Experience with intercept kinematics, target tracking, miss distance analysis, and covariance propagation
• Experience performing line-of-sight stability analysis including jitter, noise rejection, and seeker tracking performance
• Hands-on experience with GNC hardware integration, sensor characterization, and actuator calibration
• Familiarity with missile-specific tools and standards (e.g., MISSILE DATCOM, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760)
• Active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph

COMPENSATION

• Colorado Base Salary: $130,000 - $210,000
• California Base Salary: $135,000 - $220,000
• Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave 

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Work Location—This is an onsite position, Successful candidates will be located near Denver, CO or Long Beach, CA 
• Work environment—the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands—the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.

This position will be open until it is successfully filled. To submit your application, please follow the directions below.
#LI-Onsite