Principal OR Sr. Principal Guidance Navigation Controls Engineer

This role is for a Principal or Senior Principal Guidance Navigation Controls Engineer at Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, joining the South Bay Vehicle Engineering organization. The engineer will support research and development of flight control algorithms for manned and unmanned air vehicles, designing and implementing guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) systems. Responsibilities include developing control laws, creating simulation models, performing performance and flying qualities analysis, and supporting flight test activities. The position is based in El Segundo, CA or Rancho Bernardo, CA.

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.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a related Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline with 5 years of relevant, professional engineering experience; OR Master’s degree in a related STEM discipline with 3 years of relevant, professional engineering experience; OR a PhD in a related STEM discipline with 1 year of relevant, professional 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.
• Working knowledge of autopilot functions and 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.
• Working knowledge of 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).
• Bachelor's degree in a related Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline with 8 years of relevant, professional engineering experience; OR Master’s degree in a related STEM discipline with 6 years of relevant, professional engineering experience; OR a PhD in a related STEM discipline with 4 years of relevant, professional 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.
• Working knowledge of autopilot functions and 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.
• Working knowledge of 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).

Nice to have

• A 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.
• Familiarity with Simulink Stateflow Modeling and autocoding Simulink models
• Experience with C/C++, Python, and Lua script programming

Benefits

• RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
• Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00The 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.