Senior GNC Engineer (Hypersonic Defense)

Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States

Company

hirify.global is an early-stage aerospace company developing advanced defense systems and long-range hypersonic strike vehicles.

What you will do

• Design and develop flight-control and autopilot algorithms for high-speed vehicles across atmospheric and exo-atmospheric flight regimes.
• Develop adaptive and robust control strategies for uncertain and dynamic operating conditions.
• Perform 3DOF/6DOF modeling, simulation, stability analysis, and control-system validation.
• Integrate control algorithms with avionics, flight sciences, mechanisms, and flight software teams into real-time embedded systems.
• Support hardware-in-the-loop testing, flight testing, post-flight analysis, and system-level improvements.
• Analyze vehicle dynamics, actuator behavior, and sensor characteristics; develop verification tools, mentor junior engineers, and support mission-aligned technical trades.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in control-system design, analysis, and validation for aerospace or high-performance dynamic systems.
• Strong knowledge of classical and modern control theory, including adaptive, nonlinear, and robust control methods.
• Experience developing autopilot algorithms for missiles, rockets, hypersonic vehicles, or similar systems.
• Proficiency with MATLAB/Simulink or equivalent modeling and simulation tools.
• Experience with 3DOF and 6DOF simulation environments and real-time control implementation.
• Familiarity with flight-software integration and real-time embedded systems.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced, hardware-rich, high-flight-cadence environment.

Culture & Benefits

• Early-stage environment with significant ownership and direct impact on defense-system development.
• Close collaboration with multidisciplinary engineering teams and program leadership.
• Generous benefits package.
• Equal-opportunity workplace with reasonable accommodations throughout the application and hiring process.
• Employment may require access to classified information, restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information.
• Access to export-controlled information requires eligibility without additional export licensing; applicable government authorization, security-clearance, citizenship, or other legal requirements may apply.