Staff Engineer, Flight Controls - X-BAT (R4813)

Responsibilities

• Design and implement flight control laws and supporting logic across multiple flight regimes.
• Build and mature high-fidelity 6DOF simulation environments for control development and accurate pre-flight performance predictions.
• Execute verification activities, including linear analysis, Monte Carlo campaigns, disturbance/sensitivity/degraded operation testing, and HIL validation.
• Diagnose and resolve simulation-to-test mismatches, including unidentified dynamics and modeling gaps.
• Support flight test operations and contribute to rapid iteration between flights.
• Work closely with propulsion, aero, actuation, sensors, state estimation, and autonomy teams for integrated system performance in 6DOF simulation.
• Mentor, teach, and up-skill younger engineers.

Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in flight controls / GNC on real flight vehicles, from design through test.
• Experience in one or more of: vehicle modeling and simulation (6DOF environments), control law design (classical/modern for fixed-wing), control allocation (over-actuated systems), guidance/autonomy integration, verification/validation (linear/nonlinear/Monte Carlo analyses, sensitivity studies, MIL-HDBK-516), flight test support, post-flight analysis.
• Strong background in aircraft flight dynamics and 6DOF simulation.
• Strong problem-solving skills; ability to mentor junior engineers.
• Proficiency in C++, MATLAB/Simulink, and/or Python.
• Ability to obtain/maintain U.S. security clearance.

Preferred

• Autonomous systems or missile/UAV GNC background.
• Familiarity with sensor/air data systems, CI/CD pipelines, modern DevSecOps.
• Experience integrating NPSS propulsion models into 6DOF simulation.
• Experience with HIL/integrated simulation/test environments, Linux-based workflows (Git), rapid development with tight iteration loops.