Associate GNC Engineer - Tracking & Estimation

Chandler, AZ

Associate GNC Engineer - Tracking & Estimation

Work Location: Onsite in Chandler, AZ

Duration: 12 months

Terms: W2 Contract

Work Authorization: US Citizen; must hold an active/current Secret security clearance

Job Description

Our Clientis seeking a Guidance Navigation Control Engineer II for an opportunity with our client in the Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing industry.

Position Summary:

• In this role, you will help develop and evaluate guidance, navigation, and control systems for advanced aerospace applications, with a focus on seeker‐based missile engagements and precision intercept performance.
• You will apply mathematical models, control theory, and state estimation techniques to design and analyze algorithms that process seeker measurements and drive guidance and control laws.
• Your work will include building and maintaining six-degree-of-freedom (6‐DOF) simulations, integrating hardware and software components, and performing detailed performance assessments to ensure system reliability and mission success.
• You will work closely with experienced engineers to grow your expertise in seeker modeling, tracking algorithms, and advanced GNC techniques.

Responsibilities:

• Designing, developing, implementing, verifying, and testing high‐quality flight and simulation software; developing and maintaining 6‐DOF simulations to design, analyze, and test flight algorithms and code; optimizing flight and simulation software for performance, robustness, and maintainability; and using trajectory optimization and analysis tools to evaluate mission performance and GNC designs.
• This position is contingent upon obtaining and maintaining required program access(es), within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree with 2 years of professional experience, or a Master’s degree with 0 years of professional experience, in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• Must have an existing U.S. Government security clearance at the Secret level.
• Experience with guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) concepts, algorithms, or analysis.
• Experience with one or more of the following: MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C/C++, or similar technical software tools, with development in a Linux environment.
• Experience supporting development, modeling, simulation, test, integration, or analysis of aerospace, missile, spacecraft, or autonomous systems.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• Strong foundation in control systems theory and guidance law development.
• Experience with state estimation and nonlinear filtering (e.g., Kalman Filter, Extended Kalman Filter, Unscented Kalman Filter).
• Domain knowledge in target tracking and seeker systems (infrared and/or radio frequency).
• Experience developing and validating target dynamics and measurement models.
• Experience with seeker measurements such as angle‐only measurements, line‐of‐sight (LOS) rate estimation, pixel/centroid‐based measurements for infrared seekers, and/or range, range‐rate (Doppler), azimuth/elevation, and angle‐only tracking for RF seekers.
• Familiarity with tracking concepts such as data association, track initiation and maintenance logic, and multi‐target tracking in the presence of false alarms and clutter.
• Proficiency in C/C++ and Python and experience with software development tools such as Jira in a Linux environment.