GNC / Autopilot Engineering Manager (All Genders)

Description

The company builds autonomous defence platforms and AI-driven software for NATO Allies and their partners, designed to work in harsh, contested environments.

The engineering team develops autonomous platforms and AI systems, with a focus on reliability, quick iteration, and close work across hardware, software, and systems engineering.

You will own the flight control and navigation stack that keeps the autonomous platforms stable and accurate from power-on through final approach. GNC stands for guidance, navigation, and control.

The role is about building the control and state-estimation base that every other platform system relies on, and developing a team that can take on that ownership with you.

You will help shape the navigation and control architecture and grow a team of strong engineers. Success means the stack performs reliably in the demanding conditions the systems are built for.

The software and systems you work on help protect personnel and support European and national sovereignty.

You will work with experienced specialists in autonomous systems, advanced propulsion, and secure cyber platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a team of engineers working on flight control, guidance, and state estimation, which is expanding quickly.
• Set and drive the technical direction for the company autopilot stack, covering control theory (PID, LQR, MPC), sensor fusion architecture, state estimation (EKF, UKF), and real-time performance.
• Work with hardware, perception, and systems engineering teams so navigation performance holds across the whole system, not only in isolation.
• Own the technical roadmap for your area and present it to your Director and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Introduce software engineering practices to the team, including the C4 architecture model, clean code principles, and software design patterns.
• Lead the peer review process, keeping knowledge flowing across engineers at different levels.
• Hire, mentor, and develop your team members, and shape how the team works together.
• Report on technical risk, schedule, and capacity to leadership.
• Define the test and validation strategy, from simulation and HIL testing through to live trials.

Requirements

• 7+ years of software engineering experience in robotics, specifically in GNC (guidance, navigation, and control).
• 3+ years in a leadership role such as Team Lead, Head of, or Engineering Manager, with direct people management.
• A track record of deploying robotics software into production.
• Strong working knowledge of the GNC domain.
• A track record of taking autonomous systems that rely on GNSS-denied navigation from design to fielded products that have been flight-tested.
• Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, or comparable open-source autopilot stacks.
• A background in aerospace, robotics, or MINT subjects.
• Exposure to systems that operate in contested or degraded environments.
• Experience growing a technical team in a startup or fast-growing engineering organisation.
• Familiarity with development practices aligned to MIL-STD or STANAG.
• Fluent English.
• German is a plus.

Conditions

Candidates must be able to obtain and keep the security clearance required for the role. Details will be shared during the recruitment process.

Applicants of all genders are welcome.

Benefits

• Bold ideas are backed by substantial R&D support in a collaborative, quick-moving environment.