Senior GNC Engineer, Electric VTOL Flight Controls

Archer; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 240,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Archer Aviation, based in San Jose, CA, is seeking a Senior Flight Controls Engineer to design and implement flight control algorithms for an all‑electric VTOL aircraft. You will build simulations, run design trade studies, and collaborate across Flight Test and Systems Engineering to verify requirements and ensure safety.

Strong background in dynamics and control is required. The role emphasizes modeling fidelity, aircraft/system integration, and real‑world validation through hardware and

Qualifications

• Requires deep knowledge of vehicle dynamics, optimization and both classical and modern control theory.
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink to model, verify and flight‑critical software components.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement flight control algorithms for VTOL aircraft.
• Implement creative solutions to efficiently verify complex systems and software.
• Build simulations to verify and validate system requirements.
• Run trade studies to inform aircraft design and system architecture.
• Collaborate with Flight Test to design tests that safely evaluate capabilities.
• Improve fidelity and capabilities of vehicle and environment simulation models.
• Analyze flight data to improve models.
• Author software requirements and test cases for GNC software.
• Collaborate with Systems Engineering to decompose requirements.
• Identify and correct deficiencies in Flight Control System with Safety/Systems groups.

Skills

Vehicle dynamics

Optimization

Control theory

Education

BS in Aerospace Eng / Electrical/Computer Eng or related field with 10+ yrs OR MS with 6+ yrs OR PhD with 4+ yrs

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

Archer Aviation, based in San Jose, CA, is seeking a Senior Flight Controls Engineer to design and implement flight control algorithms for an all‑electric VTOL aircraft. You will build simulations, run design trade studies, and collaborate across Flight Test and Systems Engineering to verify requirements and ensure safety.

Strong background in dynamics and control is required. The role emphasizes modeling fidelity, aircraft/system integration, and real‑world validation through hardware and