Senior GNC Software Engineer (Aerospace)

TL;DR

Senior GNC Software Engineer (Embedded Aerospace): Lead design and implementation of guidance and navigation software for clean sheet airframe using COTS frameworks like ArduPilot with an accent on real-time embedded systems and autopilot integration. Focus on developing guidance algorithms for UAS platforms, flight dynamics modeling, and hardware-software integration on microcontrollers and SoCs.

Location: Full-time on-site in Hawthorne (Los Angeles), California, United States. U.S. Person status required.

Salary: $160,000 - $240,000

Company

Defense tech startup founded in 2022 with $1B funding, building advanced sensing and detection solutions powered by Coherent Distributed Networks for military, commercial air, and border protection.

What you will do

• Implement guidance and navigation software within COTS frameworks like ArduPilot
• Support airframe design activities and flight dynamics analysis for fixed and rotary wing platforms
• Integrate software with flight hardware, including vendor drivers and firmware
• Develop real-time embedded software on STM32 microcontrollers, Nvidia Jetson, AMD/Xilinx SoCs
• Collaborate in Agile teams using Scrum, CI, and TDD methodologies

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or higher in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or related
• 10+ years in professional object-oriented software development
• Experience designing guidance algorithms for UAS using commercial autopilot frameworks
• Practical knowledge of flight dynamics for fixed and rotary wing platforms
• Extensive experience with embedded software on microcontrollers (STM32) and Linux on Jetson/Xilinx SoCs
• Real-time embedded development including hardware interfaces
• U.S. Person status required for access to U.S.-only data systems

Nice to have

• Current or previous DoD security clearance
• Part 107 remote pilot certification
• EO/IR or radar sensor integration
• Firmware development with VHDL on AMD/Xilinx FPGAs
• Production SW deployment with DevOps/DevSecOps/CI/CD
• Full lifecycle development and HW/SW integration/testing of high-TRL systems

Culture & Benefits

• 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision benefits
• 401k with 50% match up to 6% of pay, FSA, HSA, life insurance
• Free daily lunch, no-meeting Fridays, unlimited PTO, casual dress
• Competitive base, pre-IPO stock options, relocation assistance, annual bonuses
• 200 employees across 5 global offices with team growth opportunities