Lead GNC Architect for Autonomous Aircraft

Mach Industries; Huntington Beach (CA); On-site; USD 240,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Mach Industries is seeking a Principal GNC Engineer to define, develop, and flight-prove the GNC architecture for autonomous aircraft and related defense platforms. You will own system-level decisions across guidance, navigation, flight controls, modeling and simulation, embedded implementation, and flight test.

This is a hands‑on technical leadership role. You will solve the program’s hardest problems, establish engineering rigor, and guide multidisciplinary teams from early vehicle design

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in GNC design for aircraft, missiles, launch vehicles, spacecraft, or autonomous systems.
• Proven ownership of a GNC system through development lifecycle stages.
• Deep knowledge of flight dynamics, stability and control, and state estimation.
• Proficiency with MATLAB/Simulink and production/embedded C/C++.
• Experience with SIL/HIL test environments and robust verification.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end GNC architecture and roadmap across mission phases.
• Translate mission objectives into GNC requirements, interfaces, and verification criteria.
• Design, analyze, and mature guidance, control, and estimation algorithms.
• Lead software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop verification workflows.
• Collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to resolve vehicle-level trades and risks.

Skills

GNC design

Flight dynamics

State estimation

Control theory

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, physics, mathematics, or related technical field

Master’s degree or Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, controls, robotics, or related field

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

C/C++

Job description

Mach Industries is seeking a Principal GNC Engineer to define, develop, and flight-prove the GNC architecture for autonomous aircraft and related defense platforms. You will own system-level decisions across guidance, navigation, flight controls, modeling and simulation, embedded implementation, and flight test.

This is a hands‑on technical leadership role. You will solve the program’s hardest problems, establish engineering rigor, and guide multidisciplinary teams from early vehicle design