Engineering Manager - Control Laws

Electra.aero; Manassas (VA); On-site; USD 153,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Generous PTO and holidays

Free catered meals at Manassas HQ

401(k) with immediate vesting

Job summary

Electra is seeking an Engineering Manager – Control Laws in Manassas, VA, to lead the end-to-end development of the EL9's control laws. You will shape design, drive verification, and coordinate with flight control, airframe, and flight physics teams to move toward certification.

The role requires deep flight controls knowledge, model-based development experience, and proven leadership to scale a high-performing team in a fast-moving aerospace startup.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of relevant 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.

Responsibilities

• 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 meets performance, safety, and handling quality requirements at the aircraft level.

Skills

Team leadership

Flight dynamics

Control theory

Communication

Stakeholder management

Safety-critical software

Model-based development

Real-time embedded systems

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Model-based development

Simulation environments

Control law verification

Real-time embedded platforms

Aircraft modeling

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.

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.

A global company, headquartered in Manassas, VA, Electra is backed by Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, and Safran, has filed for FAA Part 23 type certification, and carries 2,000+ intent to purchase from operators worldwide. We’re a team of ~100 people moving fast toward first EL9 test flights in 2027 and certification by late 2029 or 2030. Every hire matters at this stage — and this role is no exception.

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 meets 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

• Competitive salary and equity
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance; STD, LTD, and life insurance
• Generous PTO, sick leave, and company holidays
• Paid winter break
• 401(k) with immediate vesting
• Free catered lunches, coffee, snacks, and drinks at our Manassas headquarters

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.

Compensation Range: $153,000 USD - $185,000 USD

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and equity
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance; STD, LTD, and life insurance
• Generous PTO, sick leave, and company holidays
• Paid winter break
• 401(k) with immediate vesting
• Free catered lunches, coffee, snacks, and drinks at our Manassas headquarters
• Free on-site parking

Electra is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. This position may be subject to ITAR requirements.