Senior Principal GNC Engineer (Guidance & Alternative Navigation)

Senior Principal GNC Engineer (Guidance & Alternative Navigation) at Integrated Solutions for Systems, Inc Senior Principal GNC Engineer (Guidance & Alternative Navigation) at Integrated Solutions for Systems, Inc in Fort Walton Beach, Florida Posted in 2 days ago.

Type:

Full-Time Job Description:

Senior Principal GNC Engineer (Guidance & Alternative Navigation) Position Overview IS4S is seeking an expert Senior Principal GNC Engineer to lead the development of advanced navigation and guidance laws for precision-guided munitions and autonomous systems. This role is critical for platforms operating in contested environments where GPS is unavailable or degraded. You will be the technical authority for state estimation and trajectory optimization, specifically focusing on Alternative Navigation (Alt-Nav) technologies. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Kalman filtering and sensor fusion, with a proven ability to implement robust navigation solutions that do not rely solely on GNSS.

Key Responsibilities Navigation Architecture:

Lead the design and implementation of multi-sensor navigation suites. Architect state estimation filters (EKF, UKF, Particle Filters) that fuse data from IMUs, star trackers, and altimeters.

Alternative Navigation (Alt-Nav)

Development:

Drive the R D of GPS-denied navigation solutions, including Vision-Based Navigation (VBN), Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN), and Signals of Opportunity (SoOP).

Guidance Law Design:

Develop and mature advanced guidance laws (e.g., Proportional Navigation, Optimal Control, Sliding Mode Control) for terminal precision and trajectory shaping.

Contested Environment Modeling:

Create high-fidelity simulations to model GPS interference, multipath, and jamming scenarios to validate system resilience.

Algorithm-to-Hardware Implementation:

Oversee the transition of GNC algorithms from MATLAB/Simulink models into flight-ready C/C++ code, ensuring real-time performance on embedded flight processors.

Modeling & Simulation (M&S): Lead the development of 6-Degree-of-Freedom (6-DoF) digital twins for missile and drone platforms to support Monte Carlo analysis and performance predictions.

Technical Milestone Leadership:

Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) during DoD technical reviews (PDR, CDR) and interface with government customers regarding navigation accuracy and drift requirements.

Technical Qualifications Education:

Bachelors, Masters, or PhD in Aerospace, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Estimation Theory or Control Systems.

Experience:

1215+ years of experience in GNC development, specifically for DoD missiles, projectiles, or UAS.

Estimation Expert:

Mastery of Extended Kalman Filters (EKF) and error-state formulations for inertial navigation.

GPS-Denied Expertise:

Demonstrated experience in at least one Alt-Nav discipline:

Vision/Optical:

Image processing for feature tracking or scene matching.

Terrain/Magnetic:

Map-matching algorithms using digital elevation models.

Inertial:

Deep understanding of IMU error modeling and bias compensation.

Tools:

Expert proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink and C++. Experience with specialized tools like GNC toolboxes or flight simulation environments.

Security:

Active DoD Secret Security Clearance required.