Principal Engineer, State Estimation (R4602)

Shield AI•Washington, DC

23h

About The Position

We are looking for an experienced state estimation engineer to design, develop, and support the deployment of safety-critical navigation solutions for aerospace platforms. This role requires deep expertise in state estimation theory, extensive practical experience implementing ownship navigation systems in the aerospace domain, and strong software development skills for production-quality navigation code. The engineer will design and implement a unified navigation architecture that supports traditional GNSS/IMU fusion while being extensible to all-source navigation strategies incorporating diverse sensing modalities for GPS-degraded and denied environments.

Requirements

MS or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related field
15+ years of experience developing state estimation algorithms for aerospace navigation applications
Demonstrated experience implementing GNSS/INS integration solutions
Experience with safety-critical system development and certification processes
Deep understanding of state estimation theory
Experience implementing multi-sensor fusion algorithms in production systems
Strong background in inertial navigation, GNSS positioning, and sensor error modeling
Strong programming skills in C/C++ and Python/MATLAB for algorithm development and analysis
Understanding of integrity monitoring, protection levels, and safety assessment methods
Experience with requirements management and verification/validation processes for certifiable systems
Understanding of GPS/GNSS signal structure, error sources, and performance characteristics
Knowledge of IMU error models, calibration, and Allan variance analysis
Familiarity with alternative navigation sensors (camera, RF ranging, celestial, etc.)
Understanding of navigation performance metrics (accuracy, integrity, continuity, availability)

Nice To Haves

PhD in relevant field with focus on state estimation or navigation
Direct involvement in certified navigation system development from requirements through flight test
Experience with specialized navigation approaches (vision-aided navigation, terrain-referenced navigation, celestial navigation, etc.)
Publications or patents in navigation or state estimation
Experience with GPS/GNSS jamming and spoofing mitigation techniques
Clearance eligible or active security clearance

Responsibilities

Navigation System Architecture & Design:
Establish navigation performance requirements and error budgets for safety-critical applications
Support decomposition of navigation requirements into allocations for sensors, estimation algorithms, and software components
Design detailed software architecture for state estimation implementations, including module interfaces and data flow
Algorithm Development & Implementation:
Design and implement Extended Kalman Filter algorithms for navigation applications, with broad understanding of state estimation theory and alternative filtering approaches
Implement tightly-coupled and loosely-coupled GNSS/INS integration algorithms
Integrate diverse sensing modalities (vision, RF, celestial etc.) into multi-sensor fusion framework for GPS-degraded environments
Develop fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) strategies for navigation systems
Implement integrity monitoring and protection level calculations for safety-critical operations
Certification & Verification:
Develop verification and validation test plans for navigation algorithms
Conduct performance analysis including Monte Carlo simulation, covariance analysis, and flight test data evaluation
Document navigation system design, requirements allocation, and compliance evidence
Support safety assessment activities including failure modes and effects analysis
Technical Leadership:
Provide technical guidance on navigation architecture and state estimation approaches
Support trade studies evaluating navigation sensor suites and fusion strategies
Mentor junior engineers on state estimation theory and implementation