Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer - Ranger (R6391)

The role

You will build and lead the Guidance & Control (G&C) team for Ranger, a fully autonomous aircraft for conventional runway takeoff and landing. You will own the team's technical direction, development roadmap, and project execution, from requirements through flight verification.

What you will do

• Build and lead the Ranger G&C team, including staffing, technical ownership and mentoring.
• Own the G&C development roadmap with phased, measurable milestones.
• Own project execution and delivery, including scoping, scheduling and risk mitigation.
• Define and deliver the G&C architecture, including Auto-Taxi, ATOL, control laws and guidance.
• Lead integration between flight autonomy and mission autonomy through A-GRA-aligned interfaces.
• Lead development and validation of high-fidelity 6DOF simulation capabilities.
• Own the G&C verification strategy and compliance evidence.
• Drive cross-disciplinary trades with propulsion, aerodynamics, actuation, state estimation, embedded software and autonomy teams.
• Lead G&C preparation and analysis for ground and flight testing, including post-flight reconstruction.

Required qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in flight controls, GNC, or autonomous aircraft development.
• Experience building or leading engineering teams and delivering complex development efforts.
• Demonstrated ownership of technical roadmaps and project execution.
• Deep expertise in aircraft flight dynamics, classical and modern control theory, and fixed-wing control law design.
• Experience developing or validating high-fidelity 6DOF simulations using ground and flight test data.
• Experience defining and executing requirements-based verification strategies.
• Experience integrating guidance, control and flight-mode logic.
• Proficiency in C++, plus MATLAB and/or Python for engineering analysis.
• Strong technical judgment and communication skills with program leadership.

Nice to have

• Experience leading development, integration or flight verification of autonomous fixed-wing aircraft.
• Experience with A-GRA-aligned interfaces or integrating with a separate mission-autonomy provider.
• Experience building a G&C team for a new aircraft program.
• Experience with flight safety and airworthiness processes and flying-qualities analyses.
• Experience evaluating navigation errors, air data uncertainty and latency against ATOL performance requirements.
• Experience with SIL/HIL capabilities, automated regression testing, and CI/CD using Linux, Git and modern C++.
• Experience integrating NPSS propulsion models into a 6DOF simulation.
• Experience leading G&C execution in developmental flight-test programs.

Benefits

• Bonus for full-time regular employees.
• Benefits package for full-time regular employees.
• Equity for full-time regular employees.
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees, applicable after 60 days of employment.

Before you apply

• All offers are contingent on a cleared background check and possible reference check.
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company that builds intelligent systems, including Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies. It has offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.