Flight Research Guidance, Navigation and Controls (gnc) Engineer

Joby Aviation Joby Aviation · Robotics · Santa Cruz, CA · Flight Research

Joby Aviation's Flight Research team is seeking an experienced Guidance, Navigation and Controls (GNC) Engineer to research and develop new aircraft configurations. The role involves developing simulation capabilities, control algorithms, and analyses for aircraft design and iteration, delivering high-quality flight controls software, and supporting flight testing.

What you'd actually do

  1. Deliver high quality and well thought out flight controls software (C++) for VTOL and CTOL aircraft.
  2. Contribute heavily to open-loop and closed-loop stability and performance analysis tools (C++/Python).
  3. Formulate test plans to demonstrate robustness and performance of solutions.
  4. Directly support flight testing of various aircraft platforms as a required crewmember in a remote ground station.
  5. Collaborate closely with the rest of the software & controls team to ideate, plan and execute on high quality, well integrated solutions.

Skills

Required

  • C++
  • Python
  • aircraft dynamics
  • modern control methods
  • robust control
  • optimal control
  • real-time flight software
  • simulation development
  • linear analysis of dynamic systems
  • real-time signal processing

Nice to have

  • flight-test experiments
  • system ID analysis techniques
  • flight automation algorithms
  • automatic differentiation tools

What the JD emphasized

  • Expert level understanding of aircraft dynamics
  • Expert level knowledge of modern control methods including robust control and optimal control.
  • Experience writing real-time and safety-critical C++ flight software.
  • Experience developing simulation and tools for linear analysis of dynamic systems (open-loop and closed-loop)