Principal GNC Engineer

Mach Industries; Huntington Beach (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plans

Professional development opportunities

Equity grants

Job summary

Mach Industries in Huntington Beach, CA, seeks a Principal GNC Engineer to define and flight-prove the GNC architecture for autonomous aircraft and defense platforms. You will own system-level decisions across guidance, navigation, flight controls, modeling and simulation, and embedded implementation.

This hands-on leadership role requires guiding multi-disciplinary teams from early vehicle design through flight qualification and deployment, with a track record of delivering reliable,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field with relevant GNC experience.
• 10+ years designing, implementing, and testing GNC systems for autonomous platforms.
• Proven ownership of GNC through requirements, analysis, implementation, verification, and flight test.
• Proficiency with MATLAB/Simulink for modeling and C/C++ for production or embedded code.
• Experience with Monte Carlo analysis and SIL/HIL environments.
• Strong communication and mentoring abilities across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end GNC architecture and technical roadmap for all mission phases.
• Translate mission objectives into GNC requirements, interfaces, and verification criteria.
• Design and mature guidance, control laws, state estimation, and fault-handling strategies.
• Ensure robust performance across the operating envelope with actuator/sensor constraints.
• Lead flight-dynamics modeling, system identification, and data-driven validation.
• Establish software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop verification workflows.
• Drive production implementation of critical algorithms in embedded real-time software.
• Define flight-readiness criteria and lead test planning and risk management.
• Partner with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, and test teams on trades and integration risks.
• Communicate decisions and risks to leadership and stakeholders.
• Mentor engineers and establish reusable GNC methods and standards.

Skills

Leadership

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Software judgment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, robotics, physics, mathematics

Master’s degree (preferred) in related field

Ph.D. (preferred) in aerospace/controls/robotics

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

C/C++

Git/CI

SIL/HIL testing

Job description

About Mach Industries

Founded in 2023,

Mach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology company focused on developing next-generation autonomous defense platforms. At the core of our mission is the commitment to delivering scalable, decentralized defense systems that enhance the strategic capabilities of the United States and its allies. With a workforce of approximately 350 employees, we operate with startup agility and ambition.

Our vision is to redefine the future of warfare through cutting-edge manufacturing, innovation at speed, and unwavering focus on national security. We are dedicated to solving the next generation of warfare with lethal systems that deter kinetic conflict and protect global security.

The Role

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 technical 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 through flight qualification and deployment. The ideal candidate combines deep flight-vehicle expertise with strong software judgment, decisive technical leadership, and a record of fielding reliable systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end GNC architecture and technical roadmap across all mission phases, from launch or takeoff through terminal operations, recovery, or landing.
• Translate mission objectives and vehicle concepts into GNC requirements, interfaces, performance budgets, and verification criteria.
• Design, analyze, and mature guidance algorithms, control laws, state-estimation solutions, gain schedules, and control-allocation strategies.
• Ensure robust performance across the full operating envelope while accounting for aerodynamic uncertainty, actuator limits, sensor errors, latency, structural modes, environmental disturbances, and off-nominal conditions.
• Lead flight-dynamics modeling, system identification, Monte Carlo analysis, and model correlation using CFD, wind-tunnel, ground-test, and flight-test data.
• Establish and maintain rigorous software-in-the-loop, and hardware-in-the-loop verification workflows.
• Drive production implementation of flight-critical algorithms in embedded, real-time software; review code, numerics, timing, and fault-handling behavior.
• Define flight-readiness criteria and lead GNC activities for test planning, safety reviews, range execution, data analysis, anomaly resolution, and rapid iteration.
• Partner with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, embedded software, and test teams to resolve vehicle-level trades and integration risks.
• Communicate technical decisions, performance margins, and program risks clearly to engineering leadership and program stakeholders.
• Mentor engineers, lead design and code reviews, and establish reusable GNC methods, tools, and engineering standards.
• Balance analytical rigor with program speed, making sound decisions with incomplete data and taking direct ownership of outcomes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, physics, mathematics, or a related technical field.
• Significant experience designing, implementing, and testing GNC systems for aircraft, missiles, launch vehicles, spacecraft, high-performance UAVs, or comparable autonomous systems, typically gained through 10 or more years of relevant work.
• Demonstrated ownership of a GNC system through multiple phases of the development lifecycle, including requirements, analysis, implementation, verification, integration, and flight test.
• Deep knowledge of flight dynamics, stability and control, classical and modern control theory, state estimation, trajectory generation, and system identification.
• Experience developing robust algorithms for nonlinear systems with real-world actuator, sensor, computational, and timing constraints.
• Proficiency with MATLAB/Simulink for modeling and analysis, plus C or modern C++ for production or embedded implementations.
• Experience with Monte Carlo analysis, uncertainty quantification, requirements-based verification, and SIL/HIL test environments.
• Strong understanding of flight-test practices, telemetry analysis, controller tuning, anomaly investigation, and risk-managed test progression.
• Fluency with modern engineering workflows, including Git, code review, continuous integration, issue tracking, requirements traceability, and configuration management.
• Proven ability to lead complex technical decisions, communicate across disciplines, and mentor other engineers without relying on formal authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, controls, robotics, or a related field.
• Experience fielding autonomous fixed-wing aircraft or high-performance unmanned systems.
• Expertise in one or more advanced areas such as nonlinear or adaptive control, model-predictive control, LQR/LQG/LTR, robust control, or control allocation for over-actuated vehicles.
• Experience with tightly coupled GNSS/INS navigation, multi-sensor fusion, terrain- or vision-aided navigation, or operation in degraded or denied environments.
• Experience integrating seekers, radar, EO/IR, datalinks, or mission-autonomy systems into guidance and navigation architectures.
• Familiarity with PX4, ROS 2, real-time operating systems, and resource-constrained embedded processors.
• Experience with DO-178C or equivalent safety-critical development processes.
• Experience building reusable simulation frameworks, digital twins, automated regression infrastructure, or model-based systems engineering workflows.

Disclosures

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Please note that any offer for employment may be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations without sponsorship for an export license.

Mach participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offers may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and training, critical skills, and business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in most offers and are considered part of Mach’s total compensation package. Mach offers benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and opportunities for professional development.

Mach is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws.

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