Senior GNC & Navigation Engineer for Flight Autonomy

Joby Aviation; California (MO); On-site; USD 203,800 - 273,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

RSU compensation

Healthcare benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

Joby Aviation's Flight Research team is seeking a Staff-level GNC & Navigation Engineer to architect and integrate flight controls, guidance, navigation, and perception for advanced VTOL and CTOL programs. This hands-on role writes production flight software, runs flight data analysis, and mentors junior engineers.

You will lead cross-discipline collaboration, drive state estimation and multi-sensor fusion, and shape system architecture while ensuring safety-critical real-time performance across

Qualifications

• 10+ years in GNC/navigation across multiple aircraft programs.
• Expert-level understanding of aircraft dynamics and modern control methods.
• Experience with multi-sensor fusion and state estimation.
• Proven track record writing real-time, safety-critical C++ flight software.

Responsibilities

• Own the integrated architecture across VTOL and CTOL platforms.
• Develop real-time C++ flight software for control laws and fusion.
• Lead state estimation with inertial, air data, perception inputs.
• Analyze stability and performance of control/estimation.
• Architect navigation infrastructure integrating perception into stacks.
• Plan flight-test activities for quantitative performance.
• Develop simulations and tooling for design iteration.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship.
• Collaborate with perception, autonomy, and systems engineers.

Skills

GNC

Navigation

State estimation

Flight software

Systems design

Tools

C++

Python

Job description

Joby Aviation's Flight Research team is seeking a Staff-level GNC & Navigation Engineer to architect and integrate flight controls, guidance, navigation, and perception for advanced VTOL and CTOL programs. This hands-on role writes production flight software, runs flight data analysis, and mentors junior engineers.

You will lead cross-discipline collaboration, drive state estimation and multi-sensor fusion, and shape system architecture while ensuring safety-critical real-time performance across