Director of Flight Control Systems

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Flight Control Systems team at Stark is responsible for safety-critical architectures, control laws, and integrated flight software across autonomous defense platforms. Working closely with systems engineering, aerodynamics, and software teams, we bridge theoretical control theory and field-tested hardware deployment. Our mission is to ensure robust, high-performance, and resilient flight behavior in highly dynamic and contested environments.

YOUR MISSION

As Director of Flight Control Systems (FCS), reporting directly to our VP of Engineering, you will lead the end-to-end development, verification, and qualification of next-generation flight control architectures. You will define the technical roadmap, build and mentor an elite team of control and software engineers, and oversee safety-critical flight law implementation from initial modeling to flight testing.

WHAT YOU WILL DO AT STARK

• Lead and scale the Flight Control Systems team, setting engineering standards, performance goals, and development roadmaps.
• Drive the architectural design of fly-by-wire flight control software, sensor fusion algorithms, and actuation control loops.
• Oversee Model-in-the-Loop (MIL), Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing and verification frameworks.
• Collaborate with systems engineering and flight test crews to validate control system performance during flight test campaigns.
• Ensure compliance with safety-critical aerospace and defense standards (e.g., DO-178C, DO-254, or military flight clearance frameworks).
• Interface with internal cross-functional leadership and external partners to align system requirements with platform capabilities.

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE MISSION

• Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Control Theory, or a related technical field.
• Proven leadership experience managing engineering teams in flight control systems or safety-critical aerospace development.
• Deep expertise in flight dynamics, control laws development (PID, LQR, H-infinity, adaptive control), and MATLAB/Simulink modeling.
• Hands-on background in auto-code generation, embedded C/C++ development, and flight software integration.
• Track record of taking flight control systems from initial concept through ground and flight testing.

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience with autonomous defense platforms or unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
• Familiarity with military certification processes and flight test safety protocols.
• Knowledge of modern software development practices (CI/CD, automated testing, Git).