Shield AI
Senior Principal Engineer, GNC & State Estimation (R6233)
$260K–$390K
San Diego, California +1 · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Oct 9, 2026
- Location
- San Diego, California
Remote - Experience
- At least 15 years of professional GNC experience.
- Education
- Master's degree in aerospace engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Applied Mathematics or Computer Science.
About the job
Leads the technical direction, development, and delivery of reusable GNC and state-estimation capabilities for Hivemind Enterprise aircraft autonomy, while building and mentoring an engineering team.
What you'll do
- Set the GNC and State Estimation strategy, architecture, roadmap, and team capabilities.
- Develop and deliver production guidance, navigation, flight-control, and estimation software across simulation, integration, and flight testing.
- Drive GNC contributions to Runtime Assurance and support customer airworthiness work with technical evidence and validation.
What they ask for
- At least 15 years of professional GNC experience, including hands-on aircraft flight-control, autopilot, navigation, and state-estimation development.
- Demonstrated record of shipping and supporting production autopilot, flight-control, or integrated GNC software, including flight testing and deployment.
- Strong current proficiency in C++, MATLAB/Simulink or equivalent modeling tools, and Python or comparable analysis and automation tools.
- Master's degree in aerospace engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Applied Mathematics or Computer Science.
Nice to have
- Experience with Runtime Assurance, safety monitors, recovery controllers, or assured-autonomy capabilities.
- Familiarity with DO-178C or comparable development-assurance processes and RTA guidance.
Pay
USD 260,000–390,000 per-year-salary (base salary)
Tools
C++, MATLAB/Simulink, Python, DO-178C
AI focus
Develops and validates aircraft autonomy capabilities, including GNC, state estimation, and Runtime Assurance.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative