Principal Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) Engineer (Aerospace)

Location: El Segundo, California, United States; onsite

Salary: $210,000–$338,000 base compensation annually

Company

hirify.global develops defense products powered by Coherent Distributed Networks for military, commercial aviation, and border protection applications.

What you will do

• Own the guidance, navigation, and control architecture for the Massed Modular Aircraft program, including flight-control laws, state estimation, navigation, and trajectory management.
• Design control laws, guidance algorithms, sensor-fusion approaches, and relative-navigation capabilities for single-aircraft and multi-aircraft operations.
• Develop distributed or real-time 6DOF simulation environments for multiple interacting aircraft, including formation behavior, separation, deconfliction, collision avoidance, and coordinated maneuvering.
• Define and execute GNC verification and validation across simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, ground testing, and flight testing.
• Analyze stability, performance, safety, degraded modes, manufacturing variation, and multi-aircraft interaction effects across the flight envelope.
• Lead anomaly investigations, flight-test data correlation, technical-risk management, and GNC representation at design reviews and government technical meetings.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, or a related discipline.
• 15+ years of guidance, navigation, and control engineering experience for aircraft or unmanned aircraft systems.
• Hands-on experience developing and using 6DOF simulations involving multiple interacting aircraft.
• Strong background in flight-control law design, state-estimation and navigation algorithms, and stability and performance analysis.
• Experience planning and executing flight tests and correlating flight data with simulation or analysis predictions.
• Ability to obtain or maintain Secret, Top Secret, or SCI clearance.

Nice to have

• Advanced degree in a relevant GNC or controls discipline.
• Experience with modular, attritable, low-cost, or mass-producible aircraft programs.

Culture & Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance fully paid by the company.
• 401(k) with a 50% company match up to 6% of pay, plus FSA, HSA, and life insurance.
• Free daily lunch onsite and a fully stocked kitchen.
• Unlimited paid time off and a casual dress code.
• Relocation assistance, pre-IPO stock options, and planned annual bonuses.