Description
Design, implement, and test guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) systems for aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. Develop models, algorithms, sensors, and embedded software to meet mission performance, safety, and reliability requirements. Conduct research, simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop testing and recommend improvements to tools, test equipment, and techniques.
- • Direct or coordinate activities of GNC engineering or technical staff in designing, modeling, integrating, and testing guidance, navigation, and control systems for aerospace vehicles.
- • Plan and execute 6-DOF, Monte Carlo, environmental, and hardware-in-the-loop tests of GNC algorithms, sensors, and actuators.
- • Develop and tune guidance, control, and state-estimation algorithms (e.g., PID, LQR, MPC, EKF/UKF) to meet mission and safety requirements.
- • Create and maintain flight-dynamics models and digital twins to analyze and refine GNC performance.
- • Specify, select, and validate navigation sensors (IMU, GNSS/GPS, star trackers, altimeters, radar, lidar) and actuation hardware (control surfaces, thrusters, reaction wheels).
- • Author technical documentation, interface control documents, verification plans, and test reports for GNC designs and flight software.
- • Perform requirements analysis and trade studies to determine feasibility, performance, cost, and schedule impacts of GNC solutions.
- • Evaluate and qualify vendors and COTS components for GNC subsystems based on performance, reliability, and heritage.
- • Investigate and resolve flight anomalies and customer-reported GNC issues via telemetry analysis, post-flight reconstruction, and root-cause determination.
- • Maintain configuration, traceability, and performance databases for GNC algorithms, models, and test results.
- • Design and improve simulation environments, testbeds, and HIL rigs for rapid prototyping and regression testing.
- • Develop fault detection, isolation, and recovery strategies and perform robustness analyses for sensor/actuator failures and dispersions.
- • Define design criteria, verification methods, and acceptance tests for GNC subsystems, ensuring compliance with applicable standards (e.g., DO-178C, DO-160, MIL-STD).
- • Implement, integrate, and optimize real-time GNC software on embedded processors and flight computers with deterministic timing.
- • Support flight readiness reviews, mission simulations, and operations, including pre-flight checks and in-the-loop rehearsals.
- • Review lab and flight test results for conformance to GNC performance requirements, customer needs, and quality standards.
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Advanced Manufacturing
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O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
