Technical Staff, Guidance Navigation and Controls (GNC)

Stratolaunch • Mojave, CA

2d • $147,667 - $299,210 • 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. Stratolaunch is seeking a subject matter expert in Guidance Navigation and Controls (GNC) to join the Technical Staff in Engineering. Members of the Technical Staff at Stratolaunch are the company’s foremost functional area experts, providing company-level technical leadership as they solve today’s execution problems and develop innovative solutions for the future. The successful candidate will have demonstrated leadership capability and a track record applying deep technical expertise in architecture derivation, algorithm development, and hardware implementation to solve practical engineering problems.

Requirements

• In-depth expertise and experience in deriving and implementing GNC architectures
• Demonstrated ability as a technical leader
• Demonstrated ability applying technical expertise to solve high-impact problems
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills: Capable of conveying complex technical information to diverse audiences
• Familiarity with relevant industry and military standards and regulatory specifications
• Experience proposing and leading IRAD projects
• Ability to interact with customers and/or external stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience applying analytical and critical thinking skills to solve multi-disciplinary, open-ended engineering problems
• Ability to work independently in a dynamic environment to achieve business goals
• US Citizen with the ability to obtain a DOW security clearance
• Experience with embedded systems and RTOS / FPGA implementation of algorithms
• Ability to derive GNC requirements based on vehicle constraints and mission objectives
• Ability to support system sizing and trade study activities based upon mission objectives
• Familiarity with estimation & data fusion architecture theory and application
• Familiarity with theory and hardware for air vehicle navigation (GPS, TERCOM, Magnetic)
• Familiarity with autopilot architecture theory and application
• Ability to objectively assess multidisciplinary data utilized in development of GNC algorithms
• Experience utilizing flight test data to quantitatively reduce uncertainties and update models
• Strong first principles in flight dynamics, propulsion, controls, and estimation techniques
• MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook)

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge of systems engineering principles and best practices, especially relating to requirements verification through test and MBSE
• Experience owning and implementing technical roadmaps
• Experience supporting hypersonic vehicle development programs culminating in flight testing
• Experience developing GNC architectures for high supersonic or hypersonic systems
• Ability to aid in HWIL development across both hardware and software domains
• Experience working on high speed airbreathing system with hysteretic, multi-modal behavior
• Experience developing high performance extensible interfaces both in hardware and software
• Familiarity with less common navigation aiding signals and approaches (SoOP, SLAM, Celestial)
• Experience utilizing adjoint methods to analytically derive requirements
• Familiarity with control system margins (gain, phase, vector) and performance (time const, undershoot, overshoot) metrics and how to appropriately analyze and optimize
• Familiarity with direct, indirect, and heuristic optimization methods and SOTA algorithms
• Experience with requirements and approaches for safety critical software and algorithms
• Familiarity with and ability to adapt to industry standard version control and programming languages and toolchains (Git, C++, MATLAB/Simulink, Python, etc.)
• Active DOW security clearance

Responsibilities

• Provide company-level technical discipline leadership in GNC spanning theory to hardware
• Enable world class engineering through the creation of technical standards, best practices, and common tool chains in domain(s) of expertise​
• Support program execution by leading teams through and/or participating in high-impact problem solutions (e.g. Failure Review Boards, RCCA, Tiger Teams)
• Develop and maintain engineering capability roadmaps and lead the realization of those capabilities
• Propose and lead Internal Research and Development projects to generate intellectual property and enable future business success
• Support white papers, proposals, and other front end of the business efforts
• Engage in in mentoring and developing more junior colleagues
• Support recruiting and hiring activities

Benefits

• 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: Principal