Lead GNC Engineer — Missile Guidance & Flight Control

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

Job summary

Wardstone is seeking a senior GNC leader in El Segundo to own guidance, navigation, and control software and to drive architecture from simulation to live intercepts. You will work closely with founders and software, seeker, propulsion, and avionics teams to deliver robust, high-G flight control for precision guidance systems.

You will build 6DOF simulations, tune controllers for demanding trajectories, and ensure real-time performance.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of GNC experience with algorithms flown on real hardware.
• Experience leading engineers or owning a major GNC subsystem from design through flight test.
• Deep understanding of classical and modern control theory.
• Strong background in guidance, state estimation, and nonlinear dynamics.
• Experience building 6DOF flight simulations (MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or C++).
• Hands-on experience tuning controllers for missiles, rockets, UAVs, or other autonomous flight systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow the GNC team including hiring, setting priorities, and reviews.
• Own the GNC architecture and roadmap and communicate tradeoffs to founders and teams.
• Set standards for simulation, verification, flight software quality, and documentation.
• Design guidance laws for midcourse and terminal guidance under high-speed nonlinear dynamics.
• Develop intercept prediction algorithms from seeker tracks and onboard state estimates.
• Lead actuation architecture trade, design and tune robust control loops, model actuator bandwidth and latency.
• Own navigation filter and target-state estimator, integrate seeker tracks with IMU, GPS, and timing.
• Build high-fidelity 6DOF simulations and run Monte Carlo analyses.
• Deliver real-time GNC flight software and lead hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Lead GNC through ground and flight tests, tuning, data collection, and post-flight analysis.
• Shape vehicle controllability requirements with propulsion and airframe teams.

Skills

GNC leadership

control theory

state estimation

nonlinear dynamics

Education

B.S. in engineering

M.S./Ph.D. preferred

Tools

MATLAB

Simulink

Python

C++

Job description

Wardstone is seeking a senior GNC leader in El Segundo to own guidance, navigation, and control software and to drive architecture from simulation to live intercepts. You will work closely with founders and software, seeker, propulsion, and avionics teams to deliver robust, high-G flight control for precision guidance systems.

You will build 6DOF simulations, tune controllers for demanding trajectories, and ensure real-time performance.