Guidance, Navigation and Controls Manager

We're looking for a people-first Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineering Manager to oversee the development, integration, and maintenance of the guidance, navigation, control and analysis domains of our software for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This role involves leading a team of GNC engineers, collaborating with cross-functional teams (aero, software, hardware, systems, and flight operations), and ensuring that all software complies with safety, performance, and regulatory requirements. The candidate will be responsible for the entire software development lifecycle, from requirements gathering through design, implementation, and validation. 

GNC Engineering Manager – Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Management: Build, mentor, and manage a high-performing GNC engineering team developing mission-critical embedded software for UAV flight control, communications, mission planning, and data processing.

• Technical Direction & Architecture Oversight: Provide technical leadership and architectural guidance for GNC algorithms, ensuring scalability, safety, reliability, and regulatory compliance.

• Project & Execution Coordination: Coordinate with product and program managers to define project scope, allocate resources, set priorities, and manage software development schedules for flight control, mission management, and payload software programs.

• Systems Integration & Delivery: Collaborate with cross-functional engineering groups to ensure seamless integration of GNC software with hardware, sensors, communication systems, and ground control systems.

• Quality Assurance & Safety: Oversee verification and validation activities, including unit testing, simulation, hardware-in-the-loop (HITL), and flight testing to ensure performance, robustness, and safety of delivered software.

• Compliance & Certification Leadership: Ensure development follows certification frameworks and safety standards such as DO-178C, ARP4754, and other UAV regulatory requirements.

• Innovation & Technology Strategy: Evaluate emerging technologies and drive adoption into product roadmaps, supporting advancement in autonomy, communications, and mission capabilities.

• Process Improvement: Help refine development best practices, coding standards, test methodologies, and documentation processes to support scalability and efficiency.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Align software engineering goals with product, business, and operational requirements by coordinating closely with program and product management, systems engineering, hardware engineering, and flight operations teams.

• Documentation Oversight: Ensure creation and maintenance of high-quality documentation including design artifacts, test plans, certification documentation, and user manuals.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).

• Experience: Minimum of 7+ years of GNC engineering experience, including at least 3 years in a leadership, management, or team-lead role.

• Skills:

• Expertise in Matlab/Simulink and auto-code generation for embedded systems.

• Advanced knowledge of control theory, flight dynamics, and embedded systems.

• Proven ability to run and analyze SWIL and HWIL simulations.

• Effective communication and collaboration skills

• Knowledge of software development lifecycle tools and workflow systems (Git, GitHub, JIRA, CI/CD).

• Demonstrated ability to lead diverse technical teams, communicate effectively, and drive results in a fast-paced engineering environment.

• Familiarity with safety-critical systems and certification standards such as DO-178C and ARP4754.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading multi- disciplinary engineering teams.

• Knowledge of advanced control techniques and optimization algorithms.

• History of contributing to successful flight test programs and R&D projects.

• Experience with Group 1-4 UAS flight controls software design
• Prior involvement in scaling engineering teams or multi-program software organizations.