True Anomaly

Builds spacecraft and software for space defense

GNC Engineer - Missile Defense

Flight Dynamics & GNCConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-time

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or a related field is required.
At least 5 years of relevant GNC engineering experience in the aerospace and defense industry is required; experience with tactical missile systems, interceptors, or guided munitions is preferred.
Coursework or project experience in flight dynamics, aerodynamics, control systems, and state estimation is required.
A strong understanding of physics, rigid body dynamics, intercept geometry, proportional navigation, and real-time software development principles is required.
Experience with C++ and/or Python for algorithm development, numerical methods, real-time control, or simulation is required.
Familiarity with missile GNC concepts, including guidance laws, autopilot design, sensor fusion, inertial navigation, seeker operation, and aerodynamic or thrust vector control, is required.
Exposure to filtering and estimation methods, such as Kalman filters, complementary filters, and INS/GPS integration, through internships, coursework, or projects is required.
Ability to build, test, and debug flight software, real-time control systems, and simulation tools is required.
Strong analytical skills emphasizing dynamics, controls, and numerical methods are required.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary engineering environment is required.
Demonstrated ability to take ownership of complex technical problems and drive solutions from concept through flight test is required.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information U.S. government security clearance is required.

Responsibilities

Own all aspects of Guidance, Navigation, and Control system development for missile systems, including architecture definition, algorithm design, verification, hardware integration, flight test support, and operational deployment.
Design, test, and validate GNC flight software and embedded algorithms for missiles operating across multiple flight regimes and environmental conditions.
Develop and maintain navigation and state estimation algorithms, including sensor fusion frameworks such as extended Kalman filters, unscented Kalman filters, and particle filters, integrating inertial measurement unit, GPS/INS, seeker data, and other sensor modalities to provide high-rate, high-accuracy state estimates throughout the engagement timeline.
Develop guidance laws, including proportional navigation, augmented proportional navigation, and optimal guidance, and autopilot designs; implement them in flight software; and verify performance and robustness through high-fidelity six-degree-of-freedom simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight test correlation.
Design, implement, and maintain high-fidelity simulation environments capturing aerodynamics, propulsion, atmospheric effects, target dynamics, sensor models, and actuator dynamics for software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and mission analysis across the full flight envelope.
Use frequency-domain and time-domain control analysis techniques to ensure stability margins.
Develop terminal guidance algorithms for intercepting maneuvering targets, including target tracking, aimpoint selection, miss distance prediction, time-to-go estimation, and endgame steering logic.

Desired Qualifications

A master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, control systems, or an equivalent discipline is preferred.
Experience with terminal guidance algorithms, proportional navigation variants, optimal guidance theory, or modern guidance techniques is preferred.
Experience developing autopilot designs for agile missiles, including gain scheduling, adaptive control, or nonlinear control methods, is preferred.
Experience with INS/GPS integration, sensor calibration, alignment algorithms, and error budget analysis is preferred.
Experience with aerodynamic modeling, computational fluid dynamics correlation to flight data, or aeroservoelastic analysis is preferred.
Experience developing and executing hardware-in-the-loop test campaigns with flight-representative GNC hardware is preferred.
Flight test experience, including test planning, instrumentation selection, telemetry analysis, and flight data reconstruction, is preferred.
Experience with intercept kinematics, target tracking, miss distance analysis, and covariance propagation is preferred.
Experience performing line-of-sight stability analysis, including jitter, noise rejection, and seeker tracking performance, is preferred.
Hands-on experience with GNC hardware integration, sensor characterization, and actuator calibration is preferred.
Familiarity with missile-specific tools and standards, including MISSILE DATCOM, MIL-STD-1553, and MIL-STD-1760, is preferred.
An active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance with polygraph is preferred.

Space is a warfighting domain. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures it.

OUR MISSION

True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.

OUR VALUES

Be the offset.We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity.
What would it take? We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results.
It’s the people. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together.

BENEFITS & PERKS*

Best-in-class healthcare: 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents, with HSA/HRA options
Generous time off: Flexible Time Off (FTO) for exempt employees, accrued PTO of up to 25 days for non-exempt employees, plus 12 paid holidays; Parental Leave; Sick Leave
Fuel for your day: Daily catered lunch and unlimited snacks for in-office employees
And more: 401(k) retirement plan, fitness reimbursement, and Dog Fridays
Equity participation: Equity is included as part of our total compensation package, giving you an opportunity to share in the company’s success.

*Do not apply to fixed term and temporary roles

RESPONSIBILITIES

Own all aspects of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) system development for missile systems, including architecture definition, algorithm design, verification, hardware integration, flight test support, and operational deployment.
Design, test, and validate GNC flight software and embedded algorithms for missiles operating across multiple flight regimes and environmental conditions.
Develop and maintain navigation and state estimation algorithms, including sensor fusion frameworks (e.g., EKF, UKF, particle filters) integrating IMU, GPS/INS, seeker data, and other sensor modalities to provide high-rate, high-accuracy state estimates throughout the engagement timeline.
Develop guidance laws (proportional navigation, augmented PN, optimal guidance) and autopilot designs; implement them in flight software; verify performance and robustness through high-fidelity 6-DOF simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight test correlation.
Design, implement, and maintain high-fidelity simulation environments capturing aerodynamics, propulsion, atmospheric effects, target dynamics, sensor models, and actuator dynamics for SIL, HIL, and mission analysis across the full flight envelope.
Utilize frequency-domain and time-domain control analysis techniques to ensure stability margins.
Develop terminal guidance algorithms for intercept of maneuvering targets, including target tracking, aimpoint selection, miss distance prediction, time-to-go estimation, and endgame steering logic.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor''s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or related field
5+ years of relevant GNC engineering experience in the aerospace and defense industry, preferably with tactical missile systems, interceptors, or guided munitions
Coursework or project experience in flight dynamics, aerodynamics, control systems, and state estimation
Strong understanding of physics, rigid body dynamics, intercept geometry, proportional navigation, and real-time software development principles
Experience with C++ and/or Python for algorithm development, numerical methods, real-time control, or simulation
Familiarity with missile GNC concepts including guidance laws, autopilot design, sensor fusion, inertial navigation, seeker operation, and aerodynamic/thrust vector control
Exposure to filtering and estimation methods (e.g., Kalman filters, complementary filters, INS/GPS integration) through internships, coursework, or projects
Ability to build, test, and debug flight software, real-time control systems, and simulation tools
Strong analytical skills with emphasis on dynamics, controls, and numerical methods; ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary engineering environment
Demonstrated ability to take ownership of complex technical problems and drive solutions from concept through flight test
Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI US government security clearance

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, control systems, or equivalent discipline
Experience with terminal guidance algorithms, proportional navigation variants, optimal guidance theory, or modern guidance techniques
Experience developing autopilot designs for agile missiles including gain scheduling, adaptive control, or nonlinear control methods
Experience with INS/GPS integration, sensor calibration, alignment algorithms, and error budget analysis
Experience with aerodynamic modeling, CFD correlation to flight data, or aeroservoelastic analysis
Experience developing and executing hardware-in-the-loop test campaigns with flight representative GNC hardware
Flight test experience including test planning, instrumentation selection, telemetry analysis, and flight data reconstruction
Experience with intercept kinematics, target tracking, miss distance analysis, and covariance propagation
Experience performing line-of-sight stability analysis including jitter, noise rejection, and seeker tracking performance
Hands-on experience with GNC hardware integration, sensor characterization, and actuator calibration
Familiarity with missile-specific tools and standards (e.g., MISSILE DATCOM, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760)
Active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph

COMPENSATION

Base Salary: $115,000 - $300,000
Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Work Location—This is an onsite position, Successful candidates will be located near Denver, CO or Long Beach, CA
Work environment—the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
Physical demands—the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.

This position will be open until it is successfully filled. To submit your application, please follow the directions below. #LI-Onsite

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

True Anomaly is committed to equal employment opportunity on any basis protected by applicable state and federal laws. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.

To protect candidates and our company from application fraud and impersonation, we use third-party tools to verify applicant identity and detect fraudulent applications. Learn more in our Privacy Notice.

About the Company

True Anomaly

Builds spacecraft and software for space defense

True Anomaly builds spacecraft and mission software for US and allied defense organizations operating in space. Its Jackal autonomous orbital vehicle carries sensors that detect, track and image other spacecraft, then maneuvers to perform rendezvous and proximity operations. Operators use Mosaic to plan missions, simulate maneuvers, send commands and review data from satellites and ground systems while retaining control over autonomous actions. The company develops and manufactures its hardware in the United States and supplies spacecraft, payloads and software through defense programs and contracts. True Anomaly was founded in 2022 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

Company size: 201-500
Company stage: Debt Financing
Total funding: $1B
Headquarters: Centennial, CO
Founded: 2022

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