GNC Software Engineer - Autonomous Flight Control

Astro Mechanica; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, dental, and视ion

401(k) program and stock option plan

Self-managed and flexible time-off

Flexible work environment

Job summary

Astro Mechanica is seeking a GNC software engineer who wants real ownership over the guidance and control systems of a clean-sheet autonomous aircraft. You’ll write the simulation and flight code yourself, and you’ll work closely with hardware and software teams to get the aircraft flying.

You care deeply about how systems behave in the real world, not just in simulation, and you’re motivated by robust, testable control architectures ready for flight.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, software engineering, robotics, electrical engineering, or related discipline.
• Professional experience in GNC development for aerospace or autonomous vehicle programs.
• Strong background in flight dynamics, modeling, and simulation.
• Proficiency in Rust, C++, or comparable systems language, plus Python for analysis and tooling.
• Experience with version control, code review, testing, and CI.
• Ambition to work in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement guidance, navigation, and control systems for products.
• Engage in multi-disciplinary aircraft trades and help define system architecture.
• Build and maintain 6-DOF dynamics and simulation models for control design, analysis, and validation.
• Develop tooling to automate control design, Monte Carlo, and simulation validation.
• Collaborate with peers across engineering disciplines to define control schemes for products.
• Support flight and ground test operations.
• Conduct post flight/test reviews and correlate performance with analysis for continuous improvement.

Skills

GNC development

Flight dynamics

Modeling & simulation

Software development

Team collaboration

Education

Master’s degree in aerospace engineering

PhD in related discipline

Tools

Rust

C++

Python

Job description

Astro Mechanica is seeking a GNC software engineer who wants real ownership over the guidance and control systems of a clean-sheet autonomous aircraft. You’ll write the simulation and flight code yourself, and you’ll work closely with hardware and software teams to get the aircraft flying.

You care deeply about how systems behave in the real world, not just in simulation, and you’re motivated by robust, testable control architectures ready for flight.