GNC Engineer

True Anomaly; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 115,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

403K / 401K

Job summary

True Anomaly seeks engineers to own GNC system development for missile platforms, from architecture and algorithms to verification and flight testing. You will design and validate flight software, sensor fusion algorithms, and guidance laws for multiple flight regimes.

The role requires strong background in control theory, real-time embedded systems, and hands-on HIL/SIL experience. On-site work near Long Beach, CA or Denver, CO is expected with security clearances considered.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant engineering/physics field.
• Experience with GNC in aerospace/defense, missile systems, interceptors, or guided munitions.
• Strong fundamentals in flight dynamics, controls, and state estimation.

Responsibilities

• Own GNC system development for missile systems: architecture, algorithms, verification, hardware integration, flight tests.
• Design, test, and validate GNC flight software and embedded algorithms across flight regimes.
• Develop navigation and state estimation algorithms with sensor fusion (IMU, GPS/INS, seeker data).
• Develop and implement guidance laws and autopilot designs; validate via high-fidelity simulation and hardware-in-the-loop.
• Create high-fidelity simulation environments for SIL/HIL and mission analysis across flight envelope.
• Apply control analysis to ensure stability margins and robust performance.
• Develop terminal guidance for intercepts including tracking, miss distance, and time-to-go.

Skills

C++

Python

Real-time control

Flight software

Sensor fusion

State estimation

GNC concepts

Algorithms

Embedded systems

Simulation

Hardware-in-the-loop

Kalman filters

Telemetry analysis

Education

Bachelors in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, physics

Masters or PhD in aerospace/control systems

Tools

MISSILE DATCOM

MIL-STD-1553

MIL-STD-1760

Flight simulators

GNC hardware-in-the-loop

Job description

Space is a warfighting domain. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures it.

OUR MISSION

True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.

OUR VALUES

• Be the offset. We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity.
• What would it take? We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results.
• It’s the people. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together.

Responsibilities

• Own all aspects of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) system development for missile systems, including architecture definition, algorithm design, verification, hardware integration, flight test support, and operational deployment.
• Design, test, and validate GNC flight software and embedded algorithms for missiles operating across multiple flight regimes and environmental conditions.
• Develop and maintain navigation and state estimation algorithms, including sensor fusion frameworks (e.g., EKF, UKF, particle filters) integrating IMU, GPS/INS, seeker data, and other sensor modalities to provide high-rate, high-accuracy state estimates throughout the engagement timeline.
• Develop guidance laws (proportional navigation, augmented PN, optimal guidance) and autopilot designs; implement them in flight software; verify performance and robustness through high-fidelity 6-DOF simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight test correlation.
• Design, implement, and maintain high-fidelity simulation environments capturing aerodynamics, propulsion, atmospheric effects, target dynamics, sensor models, and actuator dynamics for SIL, HIL, and mission analysis across the full flight envelope.
• Utilize frequency-domain and time-domain control analysis techniques to ensure stability margins.
• Develop terminal guidance algorithms for intercept of maneuvering targets, including target tracking, aimpoint selection, miss distance prediction, time-to-go estimation, and endgame steering logic.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or related field
• 5+ years of relevant GNC engineering experience in the aerospace and defense industry, preferably with tactical missile systems, interceptors, or guided munitions
• Coursework or project experience in flight dynamics, aerodynamics, control systems, and state estimation
• Strong understanding of physics, rigid body dynamics, intercept geometry, proportional navigation, and real-time software development principles
• Experience with C++ and/or Python for algorithm development, numerical methods, real-time control, or simulation
• Familiarity with missile GNC concepts including guidance laws, autopilot design, sensor fusion, inertial navigation, seeker operation, and aerodynamic/thrust vector control
• Exposure to filtering and estimation methods (e.g., Kalman filters, complementary filters, INS/GPS integration) through internships, coursework, or projects
• Ability to build, test, and debug flight software, real-time control systems, and simulation tools
• Strong analytical skills with emphasis on dynamics, controls, and numerical methods; ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary engineering environment
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of complex technical problems and drive solutions from concept through flight test
• Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI US government security clearance

Preferred Skills And Experience

• Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, control systems, or equivalent discipline
• Experience with terminal guidance algorithms, proportional navigation variants, optimal guidance theory, or modern guidance techniques
• Experience developing autopilot designs for agile missiles including gain scheduling, adaptive control, or nonlinear control methods
• Experience with INS/GPS integration, sensor calibration, alignment algorithms, and error budget analysis
• Experience with aerodynamic modeling, CFD correlation to flight data, or aeroservoelastic analysis
• Experience developing and executing hardware-in-the-loop test campaigns with flight representative GNC hardware
• Flight test experience including test planning, instrumentation selection, telemetry analysis, and flight data reconstruction
• Experience with intercept kinematics, target tracking, miss distance analysis, and covariance propagation
• Experience performing line-of-sight stability analysis including jitter, noise rejection, and seeker tracking performance
• Hands‑on experience with GNC hardware integration, sensor characterization, and actuator calibration
• Familiarity with missile‑specific tools and standards (e.g., MISSILE DATCOM, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760)
• Active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph

Compensation

• Base Salary: $115,000 - $290,000
• Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience.

Additional Requirements

• Work Location—This is an onsite position, Successful candidates will be located near Denver, CO or Long Beach, CA
• Work environment—the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands—the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.

This position will be open until it is successfully filled.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

True Anomaly is committed to equal employment opportunity on any basis protected by applicable state and federal laws.

If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us.