Director of GNC

About the Company

We are a stealth-mode Aerospace & Defense startup headquartered in Gardena, CA. Our founding team hails from SpaceX, Anduril, and Lockheed Martin, and we are backed by Joint Staff-level military leadership and several Silicon Valley firms.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a high-performing GNC engineering team supporting missile development programs
• Define and execute GNC architectures, including guidance laws, autopilot design, state estimation, and navigation filtering
• Oversee development of midcourse and terminal guidance solutions, including performance in GPS-denied or electronically contested environments
• Direct modeling and simulation efforts, including 6-DOF simulations, Monte Carlo analysis, and performance trade studies
• Ensure robust integration across seekers, inertial navigation systems (INS), actuators, propulsion systems, flight software, and warhead interfaces
• Lead hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), software-in-the-loop (SIL), and system integration lab (SIL) activities
• Support ground and flight test campaigns, including pre-flight readiness reviews, telemetry analysis, and post-flight anomaly resolution
• Ensure compliance with applicable MIL-STDs, airworthiness requirements, safety certifications, and cybersecurity standards
• Partner with Program Management and Business Development in proposal efforts, technical volume development, and customer engagements
• Manage budget, staffing plans, subcontractor oversight, and schedule performance

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• 12+ years of experience in GNC development for missile, hypersonic, or high-speed flight systems
• 5+ years of experience leading engineering teams in defense programs
• Deep expertise in guidance law design, autopilot/control system design, and state estimation/sensor fusion
• Experience with 6-DOF simulation environments and real-time embedded flight systems
• Strong understanding of missile system integration and flight test execution
• Active Secret clearance required; Top Secret preferred

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD degree
• Experience with boost, midcourse, and terminal phase guidance architectures
• Familiarity with seeker technologies (RF, IR, multi-mode)
• Experience in hypersonic or high-Mach flight regimes
• Background in production transition and reliability growth for fielded missile systems
• Experience operating in classified program environments