GNC Engineer, Navigation-focused

Stratolaunch • Mojave, CA

22h • $120,500 - $237,200 • Hybrid

About The Position

Stratolaunch is a technology accelerator that engineers operationally realistic testing at Mach 5+. Our air-launched, Talon testbeds are reusable, cost-effective platforms that enable routine access to the hypersonic environment. We deliver flight data critical to validating system performance and achieving rapid technology deployment. Together with our customers, we drive innovations that are imperative to advancing national security.
To help achieve these efforts, Stratolaunch is seeking a Sr, Staff, or Principal Level Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer, with a focus in navigation, to participate in the development of hypersonic vehicle flight control systems. You will contribute to the design, development, requirements verification, and test execution for hypersonic vehicle flight control systems. This position will include evaluation of a broad range of technical data.

Requirements

• Experience with navigation system design, development and testing on aerospace systems
• Experience in Kalman filtering, Extended Kalman filtering, and other estimation techniques
• Experience implementing tightly coupled GPS aided strapdown navigation solutions
• Experience building navigators to operate in contested environments and resilience approaches
• Experience with inertial measurements systems and common errors, drifts, and biases
• Experience developing and anchoring navigation simulation models to flight test data
• Familiarity with design robustness to address reset, initialization, dropout, and outlier rejection
• Familiarity with Anti-Jam approaches for modern GPS receivers such as CRPAs
• Familiarity with transfer alignment approaches for missile systems on military platforms
• Fundamental knowledge and understanding of flight dynamics and GPS technology
• Experience with software development processes and methodologies
• Ability to take initiative and prioritize tasking to fit within business goals
• Ability to quickly adapt to changing priorities
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
• Proficient with Matlab and Simulink
• Proficient with revision control tools (Git, Bitbucket)
• Proficient with MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) from accredited institution and 5-10 years of relevant experience, OR equivalent combination of education and experience
• Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) from accredited institution and 10-20 years of engineering experience, OR equivalent combination of education and experience
• Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) from accredited institution and 20-25 years of engineering experience, OR equivalent combination of education and experience

Nice To Haves

• Experience implementing and troubleshooting closed loop GPS simulations in HIL environments
• Experience fusing multiple navigation aiding sources including non-GPS based data sources
• Experience with alternative aiding approaches for denied or degraded environments (e.g. TDOA)
• Experience implementing mitigations to electronic attack, and navigation signal spoofing in hardware and software for navigation systems
• Experience with cold start, warm start, and hot start for GPS systems
• Experience estimating wind relative angles utilizing synthetic air data and navigator states
• Experience with hypersonic or near-hypersonic missile or launch vehicle design
• Familiarity with P(Y) and M code GPS receivers and cryptographic keying of GPS receivers
• Familiarity with adjoint methods for miss distance decomposition and allocation
• Familiarity with trackers, target discrimination and classification, and aimpoint refinement
• Familiarity with collaborative navigation and targeting utilizing missile-to-missile datalinks
• Algorithm requirements development, design, implementation, test, and post-flight analysis
• Advanced degree with technical focus in GNC relevant areas
• TS/SCI security clearance
• Familiar with C/C++ and Python

Responsibilities

• Development and evaluation of advanced algorithms to satisfy navigation requirements
• Development of navigation models and simulations to predict navigation performance
• Perform analyses to verify algorithm designs meet requirements
• Contributions to aspects of the overall flight control system design, development, implementation, integration, and test
• Development of engineering tools, as needed, to complete the tasking
• Regular and comprehensive communication to the Vehicle Management System and GNC Leads
• Demonstrate honesty, responsibility, integrity, and fulfillment of commitments

Benefits

• 9/80 schedule
• Healthcare (medical, dental, vision, prescription drugs)
• Paid Maternity and Parental Leave
• 50% company match per contributed dollar into 401(k) savings plan, up to $11,500
• Tuition reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees