Principal Guidance, Navigation & Controls Scientist (Autonomous Vehicles)

Location: Ventura, California, United States. US citizenship is required.

Salary: $270,000–$300,000 USD annually

Company

hirify.global delivers mission and technical expertise for national security, technology, and defense challenges.

What you will do

• Lead the design, analysis, and validation of guidance, navigation, and control algorithms.
• Architect navigation solutions for autonomous vehicles operating in GPS-denied environments.
• Develop vehicle dynamics models and control architectures.
• Define verification and validation test plans for GNC subsystems.
• Analyze field-test data, diagnose performance anomalies, and refine algorithms.
• Act as the senior GNC technical authority across multiple platforms, collaborating with engineering disciplines and mentoring junior and mid-level engineers.

Requirements

• PhD in Aerospace Engineering or a closely related field.
• Professional experience designing guidance, navigation, and control systems for underwater, aerial, ground, or space vehicles.
• Deep expertise in state estimation, Kalman filtering, sensor fusion, and modern control theory.
• Strong proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink and software languages used for algorithm development.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including presentations to technical and customer audiences.
• US citizenship required.

Nice to have

• Direct experience with underwater GNC and navigation sensors.
• Familiarity with real-time embedded software environments.
• Experience supporting autonomous systems.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Health Savings Account with company contribution.
• Annual paid time off, paid holidays, and paid parental leave.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Training and development opportunities, award programs, and company-sponsored events.