Sr Principal GNC Engineer (Autopilot / FMS)

ng spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history. Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems sector is hiring a Senior Principal Guidance Navigation and Controls (GNC) Engineer with a focus on autopilot and flight management systems (FMS) to join our Vehicle Engineering team of qualified, diverse individuals in Melbourne, Florida.
Responsibilities may include:

• Design, develop, implement, verify, and test algorithms, software, and simulation tools to perform GNC of manned aircraft

• Develop control laws to meet air vehicle performance, flying qualities and stability margin requirements, both on-ground and in-flight

• Develop system and software requirements for GNC features and support requirement verification through test procedure development, lab testing and reporting

• Design pilot relief autopilot and associated logic functions

• Develop air vehicle system linear and non-linear dynamic simulation models and integrate models into software and hardware-in-the-loop simulation environments

• Define and execute performance and flying qualities analysis

• Support pilot-in-the-loop simulation handling qualities testing

• Analyze air vehicle flight test data and support flight test activities

• Utilize excellent communication skills to report program milestones, technical approaches, and findings to GNC as well as program management
  Basic Qualifications:

• Sr Principal Engineer: BS in a STEM discipline and 8 years of relevant experience; OR MS in a STEM discipline and 6 years of relevant experience

• Knowledge of fixed-wing aircraft flight dynamics

• Experience working on manned aircraft autopilot

• Experience with any of the following:

• Experience developing aircraft LNAV (Lateral Navigation), VNAV (Vertical Navigation), and/or RNAV (Area Navigation)

• Experience coordinating/developing of concept of operations, architecture, and requirements for flight management systems (FMS) and/or manned autopilot and pilot relief software

• Experience with mission planning, waypoints, waypoint leg types, waypoint sequencing

• Experience with verification test case development and lab testing of FMS and/or manned autopilot and pilot relief software

• Experience using MATLAB to create, process, analyze, and visually represent data

• Must have an active DoD Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation)

• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance prior to the commencement of employment
  Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience using linear control principles and tools to design feedback control systems

• Experience analyzing non-linear simulations of aircraft closed-loop dynamics

• Experience designing, developing, and implementing flight software algorithms to support GNC functions for air vehicles

• Experience designing, developing, and implementing simulation software to test and verify mission requirements for air vehicles

• Experience with navigation functions including the statistical processing of measured data points and their substitution into algorithms simulating physical reality

• Experience with guidance functions including the formulation of specific equations to achieve a desired position, orientation, or trajectory

• C/C++ and/or Python Programming Skills

• Private Pilot's License and experience using aircraft autopilot modes
  *Salary Range: *$114,900 - $172,300
  The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.
  Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.
  The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO/AA and Pay Transparency statement, please visit. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.