GNC Engineer, Missile Defense

True Anomaly•Denver, CO

1d•$130,000 - $220,000•Onsite

About The Position

A new space race has begun. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build innovative technology that solves the next generation of engineering, manufacturing, and operational challenges for space security and sustainability. OUR MISSION The peaceful use of space is essential for continued prosperity on Earth—from communications and finance to navigation and logistics. True Anomaly builds innovative technology at the intersection of spacecraft, software, and AI to enhance the capabilities of the U.S., its allies, and commercial partners. We safeguard global security by ensuring space access and sustainability for all. OUR VALUES Be the offset. We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity What would it take? We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results It’s the people. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or related field
5+ years of relevant GNC engineering experience in the aerospace and defense industry, preferably with tactical missile systems, interceptors, or guided munitions
Coursework or project experience in flight dynamics, aerodynamics, control systems, and state estimation
Strong understanding of physics, rigid body dynamics, intercept geometry, proportional navigation, and real-time software development principles
Experience with C++ and/or Python for algorithm development, numerical methods, real-time control, or simulation
Familiarity with missile GNC concepts including guidance laws, autopilot design, sensor fusion, inertial navigation, seeker operation, and aerodynamic/thrust vector control
Exposure to filtering and estimation methods (e.g., Kalman filters, complementary filters, INS/GPS integration) through internships, coursework, or projects
Ability to build, test, and debug flight software, real-time control systems, and simulation tools
Strong analytical skills with emphasis on dynamics, controls, and numerical methods; ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary engineering environment
Demonstrated ability to take ownership of complex technical problems and drive solutions from concept through flight test
Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI US government security clearance

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, control systems, or equivalent discipline
Experience with terminal guidance algorithms, proportional navigation variants, optimal guidance theory, or modern guidance techniques
Experience developing autopilot designs for agile missiles including gain scheduling, adaptive control, or nonlinear control methods
Experience with INS/GPS integration, sensor calibration, alignment algorithms, and error budget analysis
Experience with aerodynamic modeling, CFD correlation to flight data, or aeroservoelastic analysis
Experience developing and executing hardware-in-the-loop test campaigns with flight representative GNC hardware
Flight test experience including test planning, instrumentation selection, telemetry analysis, and flight data reconstruction
Experience with intercept kinematics, target tracking, miss distance analysis, and covariance propagation
Experience performing line-of-sight stability analysis including jitter, noise rejection, and seeker tracking performance
Hands-on experience with GNC hardware integration, sensor characterization, and actuator calibration
Familiarity with missile-specific tools and standards (e.g., MISSILE DATCOM, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760)
Active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph

Responsibilities

Own all aspects of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) system development for missile systems, including architecture definition, algorithm design, verification, hardware integration, flight test support, and operational deployment.
Design, test, and validate GNC flight software and embedded algorithms for missiles operating across multiple flight regimes and environmental conditions.
Develop and maintain navigation and state estimation algorithms, including sensor fusion frameworks (e.g., EKF, UKF, particle filters) integrating IMU, GPS/INS, seeker data, and other sensor modalities to provide high-rate, high-accuracy state estimates throughout the engagement timeline.
Develop guidance laws (proportional navigation, augmented PN, optimal guidance) and autopilot designs; implement them in flight software; verify performance and robustness through high-fidelity 6-DOF simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight test correlation.
Design, implement, and maintain high-fidelity simulation environments capturing aerodynamics, propulsion, atmospheric effects, target dynamics, sensor models, and actuator dynamics for SIL, HIL, and mission analysis across the full flight envelope.
Utilize frequency-domain and time-domain control analysis techniques to ensure stability margins.
Develop terminal guidance algorithms for intercept of maneuvering targets, including target tracking, aimpoint selection, miss distance prediction, time-to-go estimation, and endgame steering logic.