Flight Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer

CU Boulder; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, retirement plans

Paid time off

Tuition assistance

ECO Pass

Job summary

The Bio-Inspired Perception and Robotics Laboratory (BPRL) at the University of Colorado Boulder seeks a Flight Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer to design adaptive guidance and navigation for autonomous aerial platforms.

The role integrates perception systems with inner-loop flight controllers, working with event-based vision, mmWave radar, and multi-sensor fusion. PhD required; strong C++/Python and ROS2/PX4 experience are essential.

Qualifications

• PhD in engineering, robotics, or computer science.
• Strong background in robotics, estimation, guidance, navigation and control.
• Experience with sensor fusion and state estimation techniques (EKF, ESKF, factor graph optimization).
• Strong programming skills in C++ and Python; experience with ROS2, PX4.

Responsibilities

• Design adaptive guidance and navigation algorithms for autonomous aerial vehicles.
• Develop perception-driven guidance laws integrating event-based vision, focal plane imaging and radar.
• Implement multi-sensor fusion and state estimation; run simulations and hardware integration.
• Conduct outdoor flight testing and analyze flight data to improve autonomy.

Skills

Robotics

Estimation

Guidance

Navigation

Control

Sensor fusion

State estimation

C++

Python

ROS2

PX4

Education

PhD in engineering, robotics, or computer science

Tools

ROS2

PX4/ArduPilot

Embedded computing

Job description

Requisition Number: 74149

Location: Boulder, Colorado

City: Boulder

State: Colorado

Employment Type: Research Faculty

Schedule: Full-Time

Posting Close Date: 15-Oct-2026

Date Posted: 12-Aug-2026

Job Summary

The Bio-Inspired Perception and Robotics Laboratory (BPRL) is seeking a Flight Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer. The successful candidate will design and implement the adaptive guidance and navigation layers for novel bio-inspired for autonomous aerial platforms. Working closely with researchers developing adaptive focal plane imaging, event-based vision, and mmWave radar. The candidate will be responsible for integrating heterogeneous perception systems with inner loop flight controllers to enable robust flight behaviors.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

The Bio-Inspired Perception and Robotics Laboratory (BPRL) is a facility in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Robotics Graduate Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder that conducts research and development in the areas of field robotics and biologically inspired robotics. We seek to distill the fundamental sensing, processing and feedback principles that govern robust behavior in organisms to enable new classes of robotic systems with improved agility, locomotion and autonomy.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

The successful candidate will design adaptive guidance and navigation algorithms for autonomous aerial vehicles and develop perception-driven guidance laws that integrate event-based vision, adaptive focal plane imaging, and mmWave radar measurements. The candidate will also design multi-sensor fusion and state estimation algorithms for dynamic tracking and autonomous pursuit, implement and evaluate algorithms within ROS2, PX4/ArduPilot and embedded onboard computing platforms, conduct simulation studies, hardware integration, and autonomous flight experiments using motion capture systems and outdoor flight testing, and analyze flight data and iteratively improve autonomous guidance performance in representative pursuit, interception, and degraded-environment scenarios.

What We Can Offer

The annual salary range for this appointment will be $70,000 - $80,000.

Benefits

At the University of Colorado Boulder, we are committed to supporting the holistic health and well-being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local transit. As one of Boulder County's largest employers, CU Boulder offers an inspiring academic community and access to world-class outdoor recreation. Explore additional perks and programs through the CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be resourceful. Be game-changing. Be Boulder.

What We Require

PhD in engineering, robotics, or computer science.

What You Will Need

The candidate will need a strong background in robotics, estimation, guidance, navigation, and control, experience with sensor fusion and state estimation techniques (Extended Kalman Filters, Error-State Kalman Filters, factor graph optimization, or similar), and experience integrating vision systems, event cameras, LiDAR, radar, or other advanced perception sensors on robotic platforms. Ideally the candidate has strong programming skills in C++ and Python, experience with ROS2, PX4.