Manager, Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineering

Sierra Space•Louisville, CO

1d•$167,209 - $229,911

About The Position

The Manager, Guidance, Navigation, & Control (GNC) Engineering leads the technical direction and management of GNC engineering activities supporting spacecraft, aircraft, and/or autonomous systems programs. This role balances individual technical contribution with people leadership, serving as the primary GNC lead on assigned programs while supervising engineers across design, analysis, and testing disciplines. The Manager translates functional GNC plans into actionable operational plans, procedures, and schedules; ensures technical rigor and quality across deliverables; and manages risk, budget, and schedule commitments. This individual upholds company values and standards, communicates complex GNC concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders, and drives continuous improvement of GNC methodologies, tools, and processes across the organization. The Manager, GNC Engineering serves as the primary GNC lead for assigned programs, holding accountability for technical rigor, product quality, and on-time delivery across all GNC deliverables. This individual makes a high level of individual technical contribution, personally leading key analyses, developing control and estimation models, and generating critical program deliverables using GNC simulation and modeling tools such as MATLAB/Simulink, as well as directing hardware-in-the-loop testing to develop and verify flight control systems. Applying comprehensive knowledge of control theory, state estimation, sensor fusion, and trajectory optimization, this person defines procedures and methodologies for GNC design, analysis, and verification, translating functional GNC plans into operational plans, task-level breakdowns (using tools such as Jira), Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) tasks, long-term plans, and Gantt charts that support program execution as well as internal and external proposals and Statements of Work (SOWs). In addition to technical execution, this role carries managerial responsibility for supervising engineering teams across GNC design, analysis, and testing activities, balancing hands-on technical leadership with day-to-day people management. The Manager identifies, assesses, and mitigates technical, schedule, and cost risks across GNC efforts, manages program budgets, and leads organizational change by implementing new methodologies, tools, and processes to improve team effectiveness. This individual communicates complex GNC concepts clearly to diverse stakeholders including engineering teams, program management, and customers, and models and upholds company values, holding GNC teams accountable to established standards and expectations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent work experience).
Minimum of two years of relevant guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) engineering management experience through a technical leadership or managerial role.
Comprehensive knowledge of GNC principles, including control theory, state estimation, sensor fusion, and trajectory optimization for spacecraft, aircraft, or autonomous systems.
Experience with GNC simulation tools and modeling environments (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink) and hardware-in-the-loop testing for flight control systems development and verification.
Demonstrated ability to translate GNC functional plans into operational plans, defining procedures and methodologies for control system design, analysis, and verification across multiple projects.
Ability to balance technical execution with managerial responsibilities.
Experience supervising engineering teams across GNC design, analysis, and testing activities.
Strong communication skills for conveying complex GNC concepts to diverse stakeholders.
Ability to uphold and model company values, including holding GNC teams accountable to standards and expectations.
An active Top Secret with SCI eligibility U.S. Security Clearance is required.
U.S. Citizenship status is required as this position needs an active U.S. Security Clearance for employment.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience serving as a primary GNC lead for assigned programs, ensuring technical rigor, quality, and timely product delivery.
Competence in GNC risk management, including identifying, assessing, and mitigating technical, schedule, and cost risks.
Experience developing Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) tasks, creating long-term plans and Gantt charts for program execution, and supporting internal and external proposals and Statements of Work (SOWs).
Experience managing program budgets.
Experience leading organizational change, including implementing new methodologies, tools, or processes.
Experience breaking down multi-person projects into task-level plans using tools such as Jira.

Responsibilities

Leads the technical direction and management of GNC engineering activities supporting spacecraft, aircraft, and/or autonomous systems programs.
Serves as the primary GNC lead on assigned programs while supervising engineers across design, analysis, and testing disciplines.
Translates functional GNC plans into actionable operational plans, procedures, and schedules.
Ensures technical rigor and quality across deliverables.
Manages risk, budget, and schedule commitments.
Communicates complex GNC concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Drives continuous improvement of GNC methodologies, tools, and processes across the organization.
Makes a high level of individual technical contribution, personally leading key analyses, developing control and estimation models, and generating critical program deliverables.
Directs hardware-in-the-loop testing to develop and verify flight control systems.
Defines procedures and methodologies for GNC design, analysis, and verification.
Translates functional GNC plans into operational plans, task-level breakdowns, Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) tasks, long-term plans, and Gantt charts.
Supervises engineering teams across GNC design, analysis, and testing activities.
Identifies, assesses, and mitigates technical, schedule, and cost risks across GNC efforts.
Manages program budgets.
Leads organizational change by implementing new methodologies, tools, and processes to improve team effectiveness.
Upholds and models company values, holding GNC teams accountable to established standards and expectations.