Principal OR Sr. Principal Guidance Navigation Controls Engineer

Northrop Grumman Corp.; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 114,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking a Principal or Senior Principal GNC Engineer for our South Bay Vehicle Engineering team in CA. You’ll advance guidance, navigation, and control for advanced air vehicles and autonomous platforms.

The role involves designing control laws, validating through simulations and lab tests, and supporting flight experiments. Travel up to 20% and ability to obtain a Secret clearance are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in STEM with 5+ years of professional experience; OR Master’s with 3+ years; OR PhD with 1+ year.
• Experience with fixed-wing aircraft flight dynamics.
• Experience using linear control principles to design feedback control systems.
• Experience analyzing non-linear simulations of aircraft closed-loop dynamics.
• Working knowledge of autopilot functions and outer/inner loop control law performance requirements.
• Experience with MATLAB to create, process, analyze, and visually represent data.
• Experience using Simulink to model dynamic systems.
• Knowledge of logic, modes, and states for autonomous aircraft.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 20%.
• Ability to obtain a US Government Secret security clearance or higher and SAP.

Responsibilities

• Support R&D of flight control algorithms for manned and unmanned air vehicles.
• Design, develop, implement, verify, and test GNC software and simulation tools.
• Develop outer and inner loop control laws and autonomy functions.
• Create linear/non-linear dynamic models and integrate into HIL simulations.
• Perform performance and flying qualities analyses and flight test support.

Skills

Flight dynamics

Linear control principles

Autopilot functions

Autonomy concepts

Handling qualities analysis

Education

Bachelors in STEM

Masters in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

MATLAB

Simulink

Stateflow

C/C++

Python

Lua

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be availableCLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: NoCLEARANCE TYPE: SecretTRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the TimeDescriptionAt Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems – Research & Advanced Design (R&AD) transforms breakthrough ideas into mission-ready capabilities through intelligent anticipation. We’re the front-end design engine, defining what comes next. From developing cutting-edge next-generation future aircraft to trailblazing collaborative autonomous platforms, we push the boundaries of technology and forge industry-leading partnerships that set new standards for what’s possible.Our team owns the full lifecycle of advanced concept creation, from visionary early-stage designs and rapid prototyping to high-impact demonstrations and solving the toughest technical challenges in survivability, autonomy, and battle management. We seek curious, adaptable people who thrive on turning intuition into breakthrough solutions. If you’re driven to invent the future, build what’s next, and shape the landscape of national security, this is where you belong.Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal or Senior Principal Guidance Navigation Controls Engineer to join our team in our South Bay Vehicle Engineering organization. This position can be filled at El Segundo, CA or Rancho Bernardo, CA.The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations and collaborative/team settings across all levels. This is a dynamic organization involved in deploying forward-leaning avionics, guidance, navigation, and control systems for developmental concepts for air vehicles, weapons, and many more platforms.Primary Duties and Responsibilities:Support research and development of flight control algorithms for manned and unmanned air vehicles.Design, develop, implement, verify, and test algorithms, software, and simulation tools to perform guidance, navigation and control (GNC) of autonomous unmanned aircraft.Develop control laws to meet air vehicle performance, flying qualities, and stability margin requirements, both on ground and in flight.Design outer and inner loop control laws, and associated logic and autonomy functions.Develop air vehicle system linear and non-linear dynamic simulation models and integrate models into software and hardware-in-the-loop simulation environments.Perform performance and flying qualities analysis.Support non-linear simulation and hardware-in-the-loop lab testing.Support flight test activities and analyze air vehicle flight test data.Develop analysis to support design reviews at different stages in a development program, such as PDR, CDR, etc.This position can be filled at either the Principal GNC Engineer level or the Senior Principal GNC Engineer level, depending upon the qualifications below.Basic Qualifications for Principal GNC Engineer:Bachelor's degree in a related Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline with 5 years of relevant, professional engineering experience; OR Master’s degree in a related STEM discipline with 3 years of relevant, professional engineering experience; OR a PhD in a related STEM discipline with 1 year of relevant, professional engineering experience.Experience with fixed-wing aircraft flight dynamics.Experience using linear control principles and tools to design feedback control systems.Experience analyzing non-linear simulations of aircraft closed-loop dynamics.Working knowledge of autopilot functions and outer/inner loop control law performance requirements.Experience using MATLAB to create, process, analyze, and visually represent data.Experience using Simulink to model dynamic systems.Working knowledge of logic, modes, and states for autonomous aircraft.Ability and willingness to travel up to 20% of the time.Ability to obtain a US Government Secret security clearance or higher and Special Program Access (SAP).Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal GNC Engineer:Bachelor's degree in a related Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline with 8 years of relevant, professional engineering experience; OR Master’s degree in a related STEM discipline with 6 years of relevant, professional engineering experience; OR a PhD in a related STEM discipline with 4 years of relevant, professional engineering experience.Experience with fixed-wing aircraft flight dynamics.Experience using linear control principles and tools to design feedback control systems.Experience analyzing non-linear simulations of aircraft closed-loop dynamics.Working knowledge of autopilot functions and outer/inner loop control law performance requirements.Experience using MATLAB to create, process, analyze, and visually represent data.Experience using Simulink to model dynamic systems.Working knowledge of logic, modes, and states for autonomous aircraft.Ability and willingness to travel up to 20% of the time.Ability to obtain a US Government Secret security clearance or higher and Special Program Access (SAP).Preferred Qualifications for both levels:A current, active in-scope US Government Secret security clearance or higher, with the ability to obtain Special Program Access (SAP).Experience designing control laws for fixed wing aircraft and performing handling qualities analysisWorking knowledge of MIL-STD-1797 flying qualities requirementsExperience with autonomy algorithms (Autonomous Taxi/ Take Off and Landing, etc.) for driving control laws.Familiarity with Simulink Stateflow Modeling and autocoding Simulink modelsExperience with C/C++, Python, and Lua script programmingPrimary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.