Engineering Manager, Flight Controls & 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

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.