GNC Engineer

About the company

True Anomaly is a defense technology company that builds autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors.

About this role

<div class="content-intro"><p class="ms-outlook-mobile-reference-message">Space is a warfighting domain. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures it.</p> <p class="ms-outlook-mobile-reference-message"><u>OUR MISSION</u></p> <p class="ms-outlook-mobile-reference-message">True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.</p> <p class="ms-outlook-mobile-reference-message"><u>OUR VALUES</u></p> <ul> <li class="ms-outlook-mobile-reference-message"><strong>Be the offset.</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity.</li> <li class="ms-outlook-mobile-reference-message"><strong>What would it take?</strong>&nbsp;We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results.</li> <li class="ms-outlook-mobile-reference-message"><strong>It’s the people.</strong>&nbsp;Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together.</li> </ul></div><p><strong>RESPONSIBILITIES</strong></p> <ul> <li>Own all aspects of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) system development for missile systems, including architecture definition, algorithm design, verification, hardware integration, flight test support, and operational deployment.</li> <li>Design, test, and validate GNC flight software and embedded algorithms for missiles operating across multiple flight regimes and environmental conditions.</li> <li>Develop and maintain navigation and state estimation algorithms, including sensor fusion frameworks (e.g., EKF, UKF, particle filters) integrating IMU, GPS/INS, seeker data, and other sensor modalities to provide high-rate, high-accuracy state estimates throughout the engagement timeline.</li> <li>Develop guidance laws (proportional navigation, augmented PN, optimal guidance) and autopilot designs; implement them in flight software; verify performance and robustness through high-fidelity 6-DOF simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight test correlation.</li> <li>Design, implement, and maintain high-fidelity simulation environments capturing aerodynamics, propulsion, atmospheric effects, target dynamics, sensor models, and actuator dynamics for SIL, HIL, and mission analysis across the full flight envelope.</li> <li>Utilize frequency-domain and time-domain control analysis techniques to ensure stability margins.</li> <li>Develop terminal guidance algorithms for intercept of maneuvering targets, including target tracking, aimpoint selection, miss distance prediction, time-to-go estimation, and endgame steering logic.</li> </ul> <p><strong>QUALIFICATIONS</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or related field</li> <li>5+ years of relevant GNC engineering experience in the aerospace and defense industry, preferably with tactical missile systems, interceptors, or guided munitions</li> <li>Coursework or project experience in flight dynamics, aerodynamics, control systems, and state estimation</li> <li>Strong understanding of physics, rigid body dynamics, intercept geometry, proportional navigation, and real-time software development principles</li> <li>Experience with C++ and/or Python for algorithm development, numerical methods, real-time control, or simulation</li> <li>Familiarity with missile GNC concepts including guidance laws, autopilot design, sensor fusion, inertial navigation, seeker operation, and aerodynamic/thrust vector control</li> <li>Exposure to filtering and estimation methods (e.g., Kalman filters, complementary filters, INS/GPS integration) through internships, coursework, or projects</li> <li>Ability to build, test, and debug flight software, real-time control systems, and simulation tools</li> <li>Strong analytical skills with emphasis on dynamics, controls, and numerical methods; ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary engineering environment</li> <li>Demonstrated ability to take ownership of complex technical problems and drive solutions from concept through flight test</li> <li>Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI US government security clearance</li> </ul> <p><strong>PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE</strong></p> <ul> <li>Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, control systems, or equivalent discipline</li> <li>Experience with terminal guidance algorithms, proportional navigation variants, optimal guidance theory, or modern guidance techniques</li> <li>Experience developing autopilot designs for agile missiles including gain scheduling, adaptive control, or nonlinear control methods</li> <li>Experience with INS/GPS integration, sensor calibration, alignment algorithms, and error budget analysis</li> <li>Experience with aerodynamic modeling, CFD correlation to flight data, or aeroservoelastic analysis</li> <li>Experience developing and executing hardware-in-the-loop test campaigns with flight representative GNC hardware</li> <li>Flight test experience including test planning, instrumentation selection, telemetry analysis, and flight data reconstruction</li> <li>Experience with intercept kinematics, target tracking, miss distance analysis, and covariance propagation</li> <li>Experience performing line-of-sight stability analysis including jitter, noise rejection, and seeker tracking performance</li> <li>Hands-on experience with GNC hardware integration, sensor characterization, and actuator calibration</li> <li>Familiarity with missile-specific tools and standards (e.g., MISSILE DATCOM, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760)</li> <li>Active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph</li> </ul> <p><strong>COMPENSATION</strong></p> <ul> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"3355525