Senior GNC Engineer (Navigation)
On-siteRio Rancho, New Mexico, United States
Job Summary
Design and develop navigation algorithms for high-speed flight vehicles, including inertial navigation and alternative navigation methods. Implement multi-sensor fusion architectures using Extended Kalman Filters and integrate data from IMUs, star trackers, and GNSS to provide robust state estimation. Work with avionics and flight software teams to embed these solutions into real-time systems, while conducting modeling and simulation to evaluate performance under GPS-denied conditions. Support hardware-in-the-loop and flight testing, characterizing sensor biases to inform filter tuning. Mentor junior engineers and partner with program leadership on technical trades. Requires 5+ years in aerospace navigation and proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink. U.S. citizenship required for security clearance.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field
- 5+ years of experience in navigation algorithm development, analysis, and validation for aerospace or high-performance dynamic systems
- Strong background in estimation theory, including Extended Kalman Filters (EKF) and multi-sensor fusion
- Experience with inertial navigation systems (INS) and integration with external aiding sources (e.g., GNSS, star trackers, or similar sensors)
- Familiarity with alternative navigation (alt-nav) techniques for GPS-denied environments
- Proficiency in modeling and simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink or equivalent
- Experience with 3DOF and 6DOF simulation environments and real-time implementation of navigation algorithms
- Strong understanding of sensor error modeling (IMUs, star trackers, etc.) and calibration techniques
- Familiarity with flight software integration and real-time embedded systems
- Strong problem-solving mindset, thriving in a fast-paced, hardware-rich, high flight cadence environment
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government–issued security clearance
- U.S. citizenship
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