UAS Flight Controls Engineer

Location: El Segundo area

Engagement: Contract - W2 or 1099

Duration: 12 months with high likelihood of extension

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Flight Controls Engineer to design, develop, and field autonomous flight control laws for our next-generation Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS). In this role, you will take ownership of the full control loop—from initial vehicle dynamics modeling and simulation through control algorithm development, hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testing, and live flight test validation.

The ideal candidate brings proven experience delivering safety-critical control systems within the aerospace and defense sector for fixed-wing, VTOL, or multirotor unmanned platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Control Law Development: Design, analyze, and implement linear and non-linear flight control algorithms (e.g., dynamic inversion, MPC, adaptive control) for diverse UAS platforms.
• Modeling & Simulation: Develop high-fidelity 6-DOF dynamic models of air vehicles, actuators, sensors, and environmental factors using MATLAB/Simulink.
• Software Implementation: Auto-code (Simulink Coder/Embedded Coder) or hand-code control algorithms into C/C++ targeting real-time embedded flight computers.
• System Identification: Analyze flight test data to refine and validate aerodynamic models, vehicle dynamics, and sensor/actuator characterizations.
• Integration & Testing: Participate in Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing, as well as lead control system debugging during ground and live flight operations.
• Safety & Verification: Author control system requirements, perform stability margin analyses (gain/phase margins, robustness tests), and support flight readiness reviews.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering (Ph.D. preferred),
• Industry Experience: Minimum 5+ years of direct experience developing flight control systems within aerospace and defense companies that design, manufacture, or integrate UAS.
• Technical Mastery
• Deep knowledge of classical and modern control theory (PID, LQR/LQG, gain scheduling, state estimation.
• Expert-level proficiency with MATLAB & Simulink for model-based design and 6-DOF simulation.
• Hands-on experience implementing control algorithms on real-time embedded hardware using C/C++.
• UAS Domain Expertise: Direct experience with UAS dynamics (fixed-wing, VTOL, or rotary), guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) integration, and flight testing
• Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship required due to defense contracting requirements (ITAR/EAR).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with ArduPilot, PX4, or proprietary defense flight control stacks
• Familiarity with military and aerospace standards (e.g., DO-178C, DO-254, MIL-F-8785C, MIL-STD-810).
• Background in sensor fusion, Kalman filtering (EKF/UKF), and GPS-denied navigation systems
• FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate or experience serving as a flight test engineer/director.