GNC Engineer H/F
Alta Ares
GNC Engineer H/F
Alta Ares
Autonomous AI defense and ISTAR platform
Alta Ares is an air defense Neoprime. We build AI-guided interceptors to counter drones and cruise missiles, along with the software platform that powers them.
Our customers are NATO-aligned militaries and defense institutions, and our systems are regularly deployed during live exercises and operational demonstrations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Founded in 2024, we have grown to 90 people, raised over $60M, and increased revenue 40× this year. We are now entering a new phase of international expansion, industrial scaling, fundraising, and product development.
The GNC team is growing across Paris and Kyiv. As one of our early GNC engineers, you'll help shape the architecture of our autonomous systems from the earliest design studies through flight testing and final acceptance. We work in short iterations, with a strong culture of experimentation and field validation. Our engineers regularly work alongside operators and end users, ensuring that every algorithm is designed for real operational conditions: not just simulation.
As a GNC Engineer, you will develop the guidance, navigation, and control capabilities that enable our autonomous platforms to operate reliably in challenging environments. You'll contribute across the entire development lifecycle—from system architecture and flight modelling to live flight testing and operational validation.
We are looking for engineers who enjoy taking ownership of their work, iterating quickly, and seeing their algorithms perform outside the lab.
Design, develop, and improve guidance, navigation, and control algorithms for autonomous aerial systems.
Develop and maintain flight dynamics and vehicle models.
Contribute to system architecture, control strategies, and performance trade-offs from the earliest design phases.
Integrate and tune GNC software on target platforms.
Participate in flight-test campaigns and operational demonstrations.
Analyze flight data, investigate anomalies, and continuously improve system performance.
Work closely with software, AI, systems engineers, test pilots, and operators to validate solutions in real operational conditions.
Minimum 3 years of professional experience in Guidance, Navigation & Control, flight control, robotics, or autonomous systems.
Solid experience in algorithm development with two or more:
MATLAB & Simulink
Python
C/C++
Great systems engineering skills. Prior experience with aerospace V&V processes.
Motivation to participate in field testing and work directly on deployed systems.
Strong analytical skills, engineering rigor, and ability to work autonomously in a fast-paced environment.
Embedded software development experience.
Experience with open source flight control software stacks.
Programming skills in C++ and Python.
Experience with UAVs, robotics, or autonomous systems.
Familiarity with ROS/ROS2 or real-time embedded systems.
Experience with state estimation, sensor fusion, or navigation algorithms.
Alta Ares builds an autonomous AI defense stack for air defense and ISTAR missions, combining hardware interceptors, software for sensing and decision-making, and a mission-management layer to operate in GNSS-denied environments. It includes Black Bird, a turbojet interceptor for mid-long range threats, and X-Lock, a multirotor interceptor for drone swarms, both with AI-guided terminal guidance that works under jamming. Its software lineup features Pixel Lock for counter-UAS detection and guidance, Gamma ISTAR for real-time edge video intelligence, and Cyclops for sensor fusion and mission planning. The company positions itself as a sovereign European builder serving allied nations from the Baltic to the Indo-Pacific, aiming to provide interoperable, rapidly deployable defense capabilities and to grow its sovereign industrial base; it has a €50M Series A in June 2026 and was the first investment of Airbus-backed E2D defence fund.
Explore more opportunities at Alta Ares