Lead GNC Engineer - Interceptor Guidance & Flight Control

Approach Venture LLC; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

Approach Venture LLC in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Lead GNC Engineer to own the guidance, navigation, and control stack for a next-generation interceptor. You will architect GNC, build simulations, and lead a team through hardware-in-the-loop testing to live intercepts, reporting to founders and cross-functional partners.

You will develop midcourse/terminal guidance, design robust autopilots, and define interfaces with seekers and sensors. U.S. clearance eligibility is required for this role.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering (master’s or PhD preferred).
• 5+ years of GNC experience, including algorithms flown on real hardware.
• Experience leading engineers or owning a major GNC subsystem from design to flight test.
• Deep grounding in classical and modern control theory and estimation.
• Experience building 6DOF flight simulations in MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or C++.
• Hands-on controller tuning for missiles, rockets, UAVs, or autonomous flight vehicles.
• U.S. Person status (ITAR) and ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Hire, mentor, and grow the GNC team and set priorities.
• Own the GNC architecture, roadmap, and communicate tradeoffs to founders and partners.
• Set standards for simulation, verification, flight software quality, and documentation.
• Develop midcourse and terminal guidance for fast engagements using consistent navigation methods.
• Build intercept prediction algorithms from seeker tracks and onboard estimates.
• Lead actuation architecture trade-offs across surfaces, thrust vectoring, and divert thrusters.
• Design and tune autopilots for high-G, high-rate maneuvering.
• Own the navigation filter and target state estimator (EKF/UKF).
• Define seeker-to-guidance interfaces robust to noise and latency.
• Build high-fidelity 6DOF simulations with aerodynamics and seeker models.
• Run Monte Carlo and worst-case analyses to inform vehicle design.
• Deliver real-time GNC flight software with avionics and embedded teams.
• Lead hardware-in-the-loop testing with real sensors and scene generators.

Skills

GNC engineering

Control theory

Flight simulations

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

C++

EKF/UKF

Education

Bachelor's in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering

Master’s or PhD preferred

Tools

MATLAB

Simulink

Python

C++

Job description

Approach Venture LLC in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Lead GNC Engineer to own the guidance, navigation, and control stack for a next-generation interceptor. You will architect GNC, build simulations, and lead a team through hardware-in-the-loop testing to live intercepts, reporting to founders and cross-functional partners.

You will develop midcourse/terminal guidance, design robust autopilots, and define interfaces with seekers and sensors. U.S. clearance eligibility is required for this role.