The UAS Flight Controls Engineer is responsible for designing, developing, integrating, and validating flight control and Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) systems for unmanned aerial platforms supporting defense, aerospace, search and rescue, agriculture, and mission-critical automation programs. The Engineer will work closely with mechanical, electrical, software, controls, manufacturing, and cybersecurity personnel to create secure, reliable, and high-performance autonomous systems. They must have the ability to effectively transition between engineering, testing, program execution, customer support, and business priorities as needed to ensure mission and project success. The UAS Flight Controls Engineer is a valued member of the Engineering and R&D Team and will assist where needed to ensure successful delivery of innovative technology solutions. This position requires hands-on experience with flight dynamics, embedded control systems, modeling and simulation, sensor fusion, autonomy, testing, and documentation.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Design and tune flight control algorithms for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, or hybrid UAS platforms.
Develop Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) systems for autonomous and semi-autonomous flight.
Integrate sensors including IMU, GPS, barometer, vision systems, LiDAR, radar, and GPS-denied navigation inputs.
Perform modeling, simulation, and validation using MATLAB, Simulink, Python, or equivalent tools.
Support hardware-in-the-loop testing, flight testing, data analysis, and system performance tuning.
Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, software, controls, cybersecurity, and manufacturing teams to deliver secure and reliable systems.
Produce, maintain, and distribute engineering documentation including requirements, architecture, test procedures, test results, and verification records.
Troubleshoot system performance issues and support corrective actions and continuous improvement activities.
Maintain confidentiality and follow controlled engineering practices when working with sensitive, export-controlled, or customer-restricted technical information.
Complete tasks within assigned timelines and within budget.
Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
Assist team members as needed to ensure department success.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering with controls focus, Robotics, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
Must have at least 3+ years’ experience involving UAV/UAS, flight controls, robotics, autonomy, or advanced control systems.
Strong working knowledge of control theory including PID control, state-space methods, estimation, Kalman filtering, nonlinear controls, or adaptive controls.
Experience with embedded software development using C, C++, Python, or comparable real-time programming environments.
Understanding of flight dynamics, aerodynamics, sensor integration, real-time systems, and system-level testing.
Effective oral and written communication skills with the ability to document requirements, test results, and engineering decisions.
Ability to work within controlled engineering environments that require confidentiality, documentation discipline, and cybersecurity awareness.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
Prior experience supporting DoD, defense contractor, aerospace, government, or mission-critical programs.
Active or prior U.S. security clearance, or ability to support clearance-eligible program work if required.
Experience with ITAR-controlled, export-controlled, CUI, or restricted technical data environments.
Familiarity with CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, secure development practices, and controlled access workflows.
Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, ROS, ROS2, custom autopilot frameworks, or autonomous mission systems.
Exposure to DO-178C, DO-254, MIL-STD documentation practices, requirements traceability, or verification and validation processes.
Background in ISR, counter-UAS, tactical autonomy, GPS-denied navigation, ruggedized unmanned systems, laboratory testing, flight testing, or manufacturing environments.

Pay: $88,000.00 - $182,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k)
Dental insurance
Disability insurance
Health insurance
Life insurance
Paid time off
Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

A Conover NC Company

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UAS Flight Controls Engineer