Sentinel - Hypersonic Testbed GN&C Engineer

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

Description

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering 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.

Join Northrop Grumman on our continued mission to push the boundaries of possible across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Enjoy a culture where your voice is valued and start contributing to our team of passionate professionals providing real-life solutions to our world’s biggest challenges. We take pride in creating purposeful work and allowing our employees to grow and achieve their goals every day by Defining Possible. With our competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, we have the right opportunities to fit your life and launch your career today.

Northrop Grumman Defense Systems is seeking a Principal GN&C Engineer/Sr. Principal GN&C Engineer. This opening is in Huntsville, AL or Roy, UT and will support the Sentinel Program. Northrop Grumman supports the Air Force’s sustainment, development, production and deployment of hardware and system modifications for Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Ground and Airborne Launch Control Systems, Launch Facilities, and associated infrastructure. 

What you will get to do:

Hypersonic Testbed Guidance Navigation and Control (GN&C) Engineer

The engineer in this role will support the technical development of the Hypersonic Testbed vehicles' autopilot for precision at high Mach in Exoatmospheric and Endoatmospheric flight. The engineer is expected to have expertise in both classical and modern control theory for autopilot development (PID controller design, gain scheduling, optimal and robust control techniques). The engineer is responsible for the maturation of existing control algorithms and analysis tools as well as the tuning of the autopilot(s) for emerging missions supporting a variety of SDS Futures Programs. The engineer in this role will support covariance analysis and circular error probable accuracy assessment. In addition to a heavy focus on autopilot development the engineer in this role will: 

• Participate in engineering review boards, technical interchange meetings and critical milestone reviews
• Determine and report incremental performance improvements
• Respond to analysis package requests
• Perform trajectory assessment and flight analyses
• Collaborate with a team of GN&C engineers in an Agile environment to meet critical milestones
• Develop and analyze GNC algorithms (Guidance, Navigation, Autopilot)
• Develop, verify, and validate complex 6 degrees of freedom vehicle models
• Model missile components such as inertial measurement units (IMU), electronic control actuators, and thrust vector control (TVC) systems.
• Use C++ and MATLAB and Object-Oriented design
• Conduct multidisciplinary research and collaborate with equipment designers and/or hardware engineers in the planning, design, development stages utilizing (M&S) tools systems for safety and mission critical analysis
• Work with the GN&C Flight Software Team to automatically generate code from high-level specifications or models, ensuring consistency and reducing manual errors
• Will serve on one or more Advanced Programs (SDS Futures' Group) initiatives in the hypersonic arena.

Basic Qualifications:  

Principal GN&C Engineer:

• Bachelor's degree in STEM and 5 years of experience, 3 years of experience with master’s degree, 0 years of experience with PhD.
• Must have an active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with an investigation date within the last 6 years
• Ability to obtain Special Access within a reasonable period as determined by the business needs of the company.
• 1 year of autopilot development and control theory specifically focused on tuning and implementing flight control algorithms.
• 2 years of experience with Agile Development with DoDAF standards and methods
• 2 years of demonstrated experience coding in a higher-level programming language (C, C++, MATLAB/Simulink, etc.)
• 3 years of demonstrated experience in guidance, navigation, or control algorithm development and/or analysis for launch vehicles, missiles, spacecraft, and/or aircraft.

Sr. Principal GN&C Engineer:

• Bachelor's degree in STEM and 8 years of experience, 6 years of experience with master’s degree, 4 years of experience with PhD.

• Must have an active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with an investigation date within the last 6 years
• Ability to obtain TOP SECRET clearance and Special Access within a reasonable period as determined by the business needs of the company.
• 2 years of experience with Agile Development with DoDAF standards and methods
• 3 years of autopilot development and control theory specifically focused on tuning and implementing flight control algorithms.
• 4 years of demonstrated experience coding in a higher-level programming language (C, C++, MATLAB/Simulink, etc.)
• 4 years of demonstrated experience in guidance, navigation, or control algorithm development and/or analysis for launch vehicles, missiles, spacecraft, and/or aircraft.

Preferred Qualifications:  

• PhD or Masters advanced degree in Aerospace Engineering or applicable technical discipline
• Experience with guidance law design for trajectory shaping and precision impact requirements.
• Extensive experience with MATLAB/Simulink
• Experience with Object-Oriented Programming
• Experience in covariance and CEP analysis
• Experience with linear stability analysis to determine control system stability margins
• Experience designing, analyzing, and tuning autopilot algorithms for missile, hypersonic, or unmanned aircraft systems.
• Strong grasp of both classical and modern control theory, including PID, gain scheduling, state-space control, optimal control, or robust control techniques.
• Experience designing gain-scheduled or adaptive flight control systems across a wide flight envelope.
• Familiarity with nonlinear control techniques such as dynamic inversion, LQR/LQG, MPC, or adaptive control
• Experience developing actuator dynamic models, including bandwidth, rate limiting, position limits, hysteresis, backlash, deadband, and saturation effects.
• Experience evaluating actuator performance across varying environmental and operational conditions
• Knowledge of state estimation techniques, such as Kalman filtering or complementary filtering.
• Experience transitioning theoretical algorithms into flight-ready software using Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) applications
• Experience with a software version control system, such as Git, Gitlab, and/or Bitbucket
• Experience with the Atlassian tool set, Agile Development, Model Based Engineering, and Software Development best practices
• Experience with certification, airworthiness, testing, or qualification of flight and safety critical systems
• Active DoD Top Secret clearance

As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman Space Systems, you are eligible for our robust benefits package including:

• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
• 401k
• Educational Assistance
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
• Paid Time Off
• Health & Wellness Resources
• Employee Discounts

This position's standard work schedule is 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off.

#SentinelSystems

Primary Level Salary Range: $0.00 - $0.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $0.00 - $0.00

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.

Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and 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 an Equal Opportunity 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 and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.