Staff Engineer, Aircraft Trajectory Modeling (Aerospace)

Location: San Diego, California, United States; on-site

Company

hirify.global develops resilient autonomy and intelligence products for aircraft and other platforms operating in complex environments.

What you will do

• Lead the development, tuning, and validation of trajectory prediction and recovery-behavior models for a safety-critical Run-Time Assurance product.
• Use aircraft performance data, command-response assumptions, 3DOF/6DOF concepts, wind effects, uncertainty bounds, and maneuver constraints to improve predictive models.
• Build Python-based analysis, simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and flight-test workflows, including regression datasets and predicted-versus-observed behavior analysis.
• Integrate trajectory-prediction behavior with custom and commercial autopilot interfaces, vehicle-state inputs, command modes, latency, control limits, and telemetry.
• Support hardware integration and flight-test campaigns, including the X-BAT collaborative combat aircraft, and help extend safety behaviors to multi-agent operations.
• Prepare algorithm handoff artifacts and contribute scoped C/C++ implementation, testing, debugging, and technical coordination across engineering and test teams.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree, 6 years with a Master’s degree, 4 years with a PhD, or equivalent experience.
• Deep experience in trajectory prediction, aircraft-response modeling, aerospace simulation, robotics, applied autonomy, or GNC-adjacent domains, including 3DOF and/or 6DOF aircraft modeling.
• Expert-level Python for algorithm development, numerical analysis, data processing, plotting, tuning workflows, and test automation.
• Working proficiency in C or C++ for reading production code, debugging algorithm behavior, writing tests, and making scoped implementation changes.
• Experience integrating guidance, trajectory, or safety-critical algorithms with autopilots and validating behavior through simulation, HIL, flight hardware, or flight-test data.
• Ability to document model assumptions, handoff artifacts, and validation evidence while coordinating across algorithms, software, systems, test, and platform teams.

Nice to have

• Experience with Monte Carlo testing, scenario-based regression, validation metrics, envelope expansion, test-card planning, or flight-test safety reviews.
• Experience porting algorithms from Python, MATLAB/Simulink, or prototypes into C or C++ production software.
• Familiarity with high-reliability or safety-critical practices, including static analysis, coding standards, traceability, requirements-based testing, and verification evidence.
• Experience with CMake, Conan, Linux, CI/CD, embedded software workflows, or production software integration.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employee position within the Hivemind Enterprise Division – Foundations.
• Work on safety-critical autonomy products for aircraft and other complex platforms.
• Collaborate across algorithms, software, systems, test, and platform engineering teams.