Senior GNC Engineer - Flight Controls & Autonomy

Hermeus is a venture-backed defense aviation company reclaiming the lost art of rapid iterative prototyping to build the fastest aircraft in the world today. By prioritizing relentless hardware iteration, we deliver high-speed systems at the pace of the modern battlefield. We work with the Department of War to provide the high-speed capabilities our nation and its allies need to maintain a durable, asymmetric advantage. The Navigation and System Integration GNC Engineer will be responsible for integration, testing, validation and verification of Navigation instrumentation and GNSS components and supporting the navigation SW suite and development efforts (including filtering and fusion) on advanced guidance, navigation and control systems for our aircraft, as needed. U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS  The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. US persons include U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.    EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Hermeus is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions at Hermeus are based solely on merit, competence, and qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.   country: US all locations: [Los Angeles, CA] commitment: Full-time department: Engineering location: Los Angeles, CA team: GNC Responsibilities:: Develop and improve flight control, guidance, and navigation algorithms for high-speed aircraft   Design and implement control laws, estimation logic, and sensor fusion strategies for autonomous and piloted flight applications, with an emphasis on autonomous takeoff and landing   Develop and analyze linear control models and dynamic system representations to support controller design, stability analysis, and performance assessment   Build and refine high-fidelity models of vehicle dynamics, sensors, actuators, and control system behavior using MATLAB, Simulink, and related simulation tools   Conduct 6-DOF simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, regression testing, and performance studies to validate system robustness across nominal and off-nominal conditions   Support software and system integration across flight controls, navigation, avionics, and other vehicle subsystems   Execute and analyze software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and system integration testing campaigns   Support flight test planning, real-time test execution, and post-flight data analysis to validate and improve control and estimation performance   Collaborate closely with avionics, software, test, and vehicle engineering teams to define requirements, interfaces, and system architecture   Drive technical trade studies for sensors, estimators, control logic, and autonomy-related subsystems   Contribute to verification strategies, test coverage definition, and system-level performance validation   Document technical work clearly through reports, test reviews, and design presentations   Basic Requirements:: Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or a related technical field   5+ years of professional experience in GNC, flight controls, autonomy, estimation, robotics, or closely related aerospace systems   Strong fundamentals in dynamics, linear controls, stability analysis, and modeling and simulation   Experience developing or integrating flight-critical algorithms for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, UAVs, or other autonomous systems   Proficiency in MATLAB, Simulink, Python, C++, or similar technical computing and software development tools   Preferred Qualifications : Experience with flight controls development for autonomous aircraft or other high-performance aerospace systems   Experience with autonomous takeoff and landing system development, testing, or validation   Experience with GNSS, INS/IMU, air data systems, and other aircraft navigation sensors   Practical experience with Kalman filtering techniques, including EKF, UKF, or related estimation methods   Experience with 6-DOF simulation, control law development, and flight dynamics modeling   Experience with software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, Monte Carlo testing, and regression-based validation   Experience supporting flight test, post-flight analysis, and control system tuning   Ability to solve complex technical problems with a high degree of ownership in a fast-paced development environment   Strong written and verbal communication skills   Passion for building advanced aircraft and enabling a faster pace of flight development