Principal Flight Controls Engineer (Hybrid-Electric Aircraft)

ELECTRA; Manassas (VA); On-site; USD 176,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

STD/LTD

Life insurance

PTO

Winter break

401(k)

Free catered lunches

Free on-site parking

Job summary

Electra is seeking a Principal Flight Controls Engineer to lead the development and maturation of control laws for the EL9 Ultra Short aircraft. You will inherit a baseline concept, drive detailed design, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to certify a novel configuration.

You will demonstrate deep expertise in flight dynamics, control theory, and model-based verification, while guiding a high-performing team toward certification readiness and robust flight safety.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong understanding of flight dynamics, control theory, and handling qualities.
• Experience with model-based development, simulation environments, and control law verification.
• Experience deploying safety-critical software to a real-time embedded platform.
• Experience with aircraft systems, aerodynamics, actuators, sensors, and propulsion.

Responsibilities

• Support end-to-end development of control laws for the EL9 aircraft, from preliminary design through certification.
• Develop and validate control law software, ensuring alignment across systems, performance, and structures.
• Integrate control laws into the Flight Control system and support verification and flight testing.
• Ensure control laws meet performance, safety, and handling quality requirements at the aircraft level.

Skills

Flight dynamics

Control theory

Model-based development

Simulation environments

Control law verification

Real-time embedded systems

Aerodynamics

Sensors and actuators

Communications

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Model-based development tools

Job description

Electra is seeking a Principal Flight Controls Engineer to lead the development and maturation of control laws for the EL9 Ultra Short aircraft. You will inherit a baseline concept, drive detailed design, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to certify a novel configuration.

You will demonstrate deep expertise in flight dynamics, control theory, and model-based verification, while guiding a high-performing team toward certification readiness and robust flight safety.