Senior Staff GNC Engineer - Flight Controls

Pivotal; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 240,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401k plan

Job summary

Pivotal is seeking a Senior Staff GNC Engineer to lead flight controls across our eVTOL programs. You will set long-term technical directions, guide verification and certification, and collaborate with navigation, firmware, and flight test teams to ensure safe, precise control laws across platforms.

You will mentor engineers, drive architecture decisions, and maintain hands-on involvement with challenging problems like transition and envelope protection.

Qualifications

• Experience leading flight control law development on at least one aircraft, from design through flight test.
• Expert knowledge of aircraft flight dynamics and of classical, modern, and robust control methods.
• Proficiency in MATLAB and Simulink, and the ability to review flight software in C or C++.
• Experience with verification strategies for safety-critical flight control systems, including simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and flight testing.
• Experience leading engineering teams and mentoring engineers across teams, influencing leadership decisions.

Responsibilities

• Set the long-term technical direction for flight controls across programs, including architecture, modes, redundancy, and failure accommodation.
• Define and guide verification and certification approaches with systems engineering and safety teams (DO-178C, DO-331, ARP4754A).
• Coordinate with navigation, autonomy, firmware, aeromechanical, and flight test teams to ensure cohesive GNC system.
• Lead the flight controls team, set priorities, mentor staff, and participate in hiring and growth of the team.

Skills

Flight controls

GNC engineering

MATLAB/Simulink

C/C++

Team leadership

Communication skills

Model-based design

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace/related field

Master’s degree or PhD preferred

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Git

CONDUIT

CIFER

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Pivotal is the leader in the emerging market of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. We design, develop, and manufacture light eVTOL aircraft and are renowned for the BlackFly aircraft the world's first light eVTOL to fly manned missions and enter the consumer market.

Efficient, compact, and simple, Pivotal aircraft are designed for a wide range of consumer, public service, and defense applications. Our distinctive tilt-aircraft architecture and scalable platform have been flying for over 10 years. Last year we announced our next-generation aircraft, the Helix, which is rapidly progressing toward general release and scalable production in 2026.

Mobility is one of the most highly-valued areas of modern technology investments. This is the right company, in the right space, the right strategy, at the right time. If you are ready for adventure, we invite you to join our amazing team and grow with us.

About the Role

The GNC team at Pivotal develops the flight control and navigation algorithms that let our aircraft fly safely and precisely, including on the Helix family of aircraft. We are looking for a Senior Staff GNC Engineer to be the technical and team lead for flight controls across our aircraft programs, setting the long-term direction for how Pivotal aircraft are controlled and how the team develops, verifies, and qualifies its control laws.

Responsibilities

Technical Direction

• Set the long-term technical direction for flight controls across aircraft programs, including control law architecture, operating modes, redundancy, and failure accommodation.
• Make or guide the final technical calls on major flight control design decisions and trade-offs, and document the rationale.
• Shape aircraft-level decisions that affect flight controls, such as actuator and sensor selection, redundancy, flight computer architecture, and aircraft configuration.
• Stay hands-on with the hardest technical problems, such as transition, envelope protection, and failure accommodation.

Process, Tools & Verification

• Define how the team develops and verifies flight control laws, including model-based design practices, simulation and test infrastructure, and automated verification.
• Lead the assurance and certification approach for flight controls with the systems engineering, safety, and certification teams, including means of compliance and DO-178C, DO-331, and ARP4754A objectives.
• Review flight readiness for significant control law changes and flight envelope expansion.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead the flight controls team, setting its technical priorities, overseeing its work across programs, and mentoring Staff, Senior, and early-career engineers, and help shape hiring and the growth of the team.
• Represent flight controls to company leadership, customers, partners, and regulators.
• Coordinate flight controls work with the navigation, autonomy, firmware, aeromechanical, and flight test teams so the GNC system works as a whole.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 12+ years of industry experience in flight controls or GNC with a Bachelor’s degree, 8+ years with a Master’s degree, or 5+ years with a PhD, or equivalent experience.

Experience

• Experience as the technical lead for flight control law development on at least one aircraft, from early design through flight test.
• Expert knowledge of aircraft flight dynamics and of classical, modern, and robust control methods.
• Deep experience with multi-loop flight control architectures, control allocation, envelope protection, and failure accommodation.
• Experience with frequency-domain analysis and system identification of aircraft or rotorcraft, and with using flight test data to improve models and control laws.
• Experience defining verification strategies for safety-critical flight control systems, from simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing through flight test.
• A track record of leading engineering teams and of technical leadership across teams, including mentoring senior engineers and influencing leadership decisions.
• Proficiency in MATLAB and Simulink, and the ability to review flight software in C or C++.
• Excellent communication skills, including explaining complex technical trade-offs to executives, customers, and non-specialists.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in Aerospace Engineering or a related field, with a focus on flight dynamics or flight controls.
• Experience with eVTOL, tiltrotor, rotorcraft, or other VTOL aircraft, including control through the transition between hover and forward flight.
• Experience taking a flight control system through certification or airworthiness approval, such as with the FAA, EASA, or a military authority, including DO-178C, DO-331, ARP4754A, and ARP4761.
• Experience using CONDUIT and CIFER.
• Experience with handling qualities specifications and evaluations, such as ADS-33, MIL-DTL-32742, and MIL-STD-1797, including piloted simulation evaluations.
• Experience developing flight controls for both piloted and autonomous aircraft.
• Experience building or leading a flight controls team.
• Experience scaling model-based design, simulation infrastructure, and automated testing, using Git, continuous integration, and agile development workflows.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools, such as Claude, to speed up algorithm development, coding, and data analysis.
• Piloting or RC piloting experience, or a strong interest in aviation.

Attributes aligned with Core Values

• Safety Above All: Demonstrates a proactive safety mindset by embedding safety into daily work, identifying and mitigating risks, encouraging open dialogue about safety concerns, and continuously improving practices and protocols.
• Customer Focus: Puts customers at the center of every action by understanding their challenges, delivering meaningful value, and supporting their success.
• Work Better Together: Seeks and values diverse perspectives, builds cross-functional relationships, and fosters trust through empathetic, fact-based communication and commitment to shared decisions.
• Be the Pilot: Drives results with clarity and purpose by focusing on what matters most, adapting to change, taking initiative, and owning outcomes.
• Embrace the Unknown: Navigates ambiguity with resilience and bold thinking, challenges the status quo, and combines innovative ideas with practical approaches to overcome obstacles and drive progress.
• Respect for People: Fosters a high-performance culture grounded in respect, professionalism, and support by balancing high expectations with a healthy, collaborative environment and being a trusted, dependable teammate.

AMD240,000 - AMD280,000 a year

Applicants must be eligible for employment in the United States and willing to work onsite at our HQ office in Palo Alto, CA.

Pivotal offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and 401k plans.

Pivotal is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Pivotal does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.