GNC Engineer (Controls)

Location: Huntington Beach, California, United States; on-site

Salary: $125,000–$160,000 annually for GNC Engineer (Controls); $165,000–$220,000 annually for Senior GNC Engineer (Controls), plus equity.

Company

hirify.global is a defense technology startup developing autonomous, decentralized defense platforms and advanced fixed-wing vehicles.

What you will do

• Design control systems and flight-critical control laws for fixed-wing vehicles from takeoff through landing.
• Implement control laws that account for actuator limits, time delays, sensor noise, and real-time constraints.
• Develop system identification and aerodynamic models using wind-tunnel, CFD, and flight-test data.
• Execute SIL/HIL campaigns, Monte Carlo analysis, verification and validation, and flight-readiness assessments.
• Plan and execute flight tests, analyze telemetry, tune controllers, and iterate on designs.
• Carry work through design and code reviews while meeting program milestones.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, or mathematics.
• 0–5 years of experience designing, analyzing, and fielding flight-control systems for fixed-wing aircraft or high-performance UAVs, including flight testing.
• Deep knowledge of flight dynamics, stability, controllability, and actuator and sensor modeling.
• Familiarity with modern C++ for embedded real-time systems and strong MATLAB, Simulink, and Python skills.
• Familiarity with SIL/HIL verification, requirements traceability, safety reviews, Git, code review, issue tracking, and telemetry analysis.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States; employment may require authorization to access U.S. export-controlled technology without sponsorship for an export license.

Nice to have

• Experience with MIMO control design, LQR, LQG, LTR, adaptive control, or system identification.
• Experience with energy-based control, autothrottle, sideslip/yaw coordination, or control allocation for over-actuated systems.
• Experience integrating PX4 and ROS 2.
• Exposure to DO-178C, DO-331, ARP4754A, or equivalent processes.
• Experience optimizing software for resource-constrained processors and hard real-time latency and jitter requirements.

Culture & Benefits

• Competitive base salary with performance-based incentives and equity participation.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings, and paid time off.
• Funding for continuing education, training, and professional development.
• Work focused on next-generation autonomous defense systems and national security.
• Equal opportunity employment and participation in E-Verify.