Staff Engineer - Guidance Navigation Controls

Northrop Grumman; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 153,000 - 266,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems seeks a Staff Engineer to advance guidance, navigation and control for unmanned and manned air vehicles. This role involves developing control laws, validating with simulations, and supporting flight tests in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Location options include Rancho Bernardo, CA, or Roy, UT. Travel up to 20% is expected. A Secret security clearance is required or obtainable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 12 years of related engineering experience or Master’s with 10 years or PhD with 8 years.
• 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.
• Experience with autopilot functions.
• Experience with 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.
• Experience with 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 SAP.

Responsibilities

• Support R&D of flight control algorithms for manned and unmanned air vehicles.
• Design, implement, verify, and test guidance, navigation and control algorithms and software.
• Develop control laws to meet performance and stability requirements.
• Design outer and inner loop control laws and autonomy functions.
• Develop dynamic models and integrate them into simulation environments.
• Perform performance and flying qualities analyses.
• Support non-linear simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Support flight test activities and analyze test data.
• Develop analyses to support design reviews (PDR, CDR).

Skills

Flight dynamics

Linear control

MATLAB

Simulink

Autopilot functions

Control laws design

Python

C/C++

Lua scripting

Travel coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Master's degree in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

Stateflow

MIL-STD-1797

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time

Description

At 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 Staff Engineer - Guidance Navigation Controls to join our team within our South Bay Vehicle Engineering organization. This position can be located in Rancho Bernardo, CA or Roy, Utah.

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.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 12 years of related engineering experience; OR Master’s degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 10 years of related engineering experience; OR PhD in a relevant STEM discipline and 8 years of related 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.
• Experience with autopilot functions.
• Experience with 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.
• Experience with 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

• 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 analysis
• Working knowledge of MIL-STD-1797 flying qualities requirements
• Experience with autonomy algorithms (Autonomous Taxi/ Take Off And Landing, etc.) for driving control laws.
• Experience using Simulink Stateflow Modeling
• Experience autocoding Simulink models
• Experience with Python programming
• Experience with C/C++ programming
• Experience with Lua Script programming

Primary Level Salary Range: $152,900.00 - $265,600.00

The 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.