Wardstone
Lead Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Engineer
El Segundo, United States · On-site · Full-time · Posted Jul 13, 2026
- Experience
- 5+ years of GNC experience.
- Education
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field; M.S. or Ph.D. preferred.
- Visa sponsorship
- Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual); must be eligible to obtain a U.S. security clearance.
About the job
Own Wardstone’s guidance, navigation, and control architecture, algorithms, simulations, and flight software, taking the system from simulation through hardware-in-the-loop and live intercept tests.
What you'll do
- Lead and grow the GNC team; own its architecture, roadmap, standards, and design and code reviews.
- Develop guidance, control, navigation, estimation, and high-fidelity simulation capabilities for the interceptor.
- Deliver and test real-time GNC flight software through hardware-in-the-loop, ground, and flight testing.
What they ask for
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field.
- 5+ years of GNC experience, including algorithms flown on real hardware.
- Experience leading engineers or owning a major GNC subsystem from design through flight test.
- Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR and eligible to obtain a U.S. security clearance.
Nice to have
- M.S. or Ph.D.
- Experience with missile guidance, interceptors, hypersonic systems, optimal control, radar seeker integration, embedded real-time systems, flight qualification, or early-stage startups.
Tools
MATLAB, Simulink, Python, C++, EKF/UKF, MPC, LQR, RTOS
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative