Engineering Manager- Control Laws

Electra.aero

Manassas (VA)

On-site

USD 153,000 - 185,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

Medical, dental, and vision insurance;

STD, LTD, and life insurance

Generous PTO, sick leave, and company歴

Paid winter break

401(k) with immediate vesting

Free catered lunches, coffee, snacks,和

Job summary

Electra.aero is seeking an Engineering Manager – Control Laws to lead development of the EL9's control laws and manage the team responsible for delivering a certifiable control system. You will refine baseline concepts, drive detailed design, and mature the system for certification.

You will bring deep expertise in flight controls and strong leadership to scale a high-performing team, collaborating with flight control, airframe, and flight physics groups to bring a novel aircraft through

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent.
Proven ability to lead a team and drive complex programs to execution.
Strong understanding of flight dynamics and aircraft control theory.
Experience with model-based development and simulation environments.
Experience deploying safety-critical software to real-time embedded platforms.
Experience modeling aircraft systems and propulsion.
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to balance deep technical work with strategic leadership.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end Control Law development from design to certification.
Lead development and validation of control law software across systems.
Build and lead a high-performing flight controls team with cost/schedule milestones.
Support control law integration into Flight Control system and flight test.
Ensure performance, safety, and handling quality requirements at aircraft level.

Skills

Flight dynamics

Control theory

Leadership

Model-based development

Real-time embedded systems

Communication

Stakeholder management

Strategic leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Simulation environments

Real-time embedded platforms

CI/CD pipelines

Aero/flight modeling tools

DO-178/DO-331 familiarity

Job description

About Electra

At Electra, we’re building the EL9 – a nine‑passenger, hybrid‑electric aircraft that takes off and lands in 150 feet. Our Ultra Short technology unlocks thousands of new operating locations and enables what we call Direct Aviation: quiet, point‑to‑point regional travel that gets people from where they are to where they want to go, without the congestion of major airports or the noise of conventional aviation.

The Role

As the Engineering Manager – Control Laws, you will serve as both the engineering lead and people manager responsible for development of the Control Laws for the EL9 Ultra Short aircraft. You will inherit a baseline concept and prototype implementation and lead your team in finalizing preliminary design, driving detailed design execution, and maturing the system to a certifiable configuration.

This role requires deep expertise in flight controls and control theory as well as strong leadership capabilities to build and scale a high‑performing team. You will collaborate with the flight control system team, airframe team, and flight physics team, and play a central role in bringing a novel aircraft configuration through certification.

What You'll Do

Own the end‑to‑end Control Law development for the EL9 aircraft, from preliminary design through certification.
Lead development and validation of the control law software, ensuring alignment across systems, performance, and structures.
Build and lead a high‑performing flight controls team, providing technical direction while delivering on program cost, schedule, and milestones.
Support control law integration into the Flight Control system, including verification and flight test.
Ensure that the control laws meet performance, safety, and handling quality requirements at the aircraft level.

What You'll Bring

Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Proven ability to lead a team and drive complex programs to execution.
Strong understanding of flight dynamics, aircraft control theory, and handling qualities.
Experience with model‑based development, simulation environments, and control law verification.
Experience deploying safety‑critical software to a real‑time embedded platform.
Experience with modeling aircraft and aircraft systems, aerodynamics, aero‑elastic effects, actuators, sensors, and propulsion systems.
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to balance deep technical involvement with strategic leadership responsibilities.

Bonus Points

Experience leading control law development for novel or highly integrated aircraft configurations (e.g., STOL, eVTOL, hybrid‑electric aircraft).
Experience developing algorithms for fly‑by‑wire and/or stability augmentation systems, from initial concept through flight testing.
Familiarity with industry‑standard aerospace development and certification practices (DO‑178, DO‑331) applicable to flight software development.
Familiarity with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines.
Experience with redundant and fault‑tolerant control system architectures.
Experience building, scaling, and managing high‑performing engineering teams, including hiring, mentoring, and driving technical excellence and accountability.

Compensation

$153,000 – $185,000 annually. This range reflects the anticipated hiring range across all eligible locations; actual compensation is determined based on your relevant experience, skills, and geographic location. Total compensation includes performance bonus and comprehensive benefits.

What We Offer