PhD Graduate – Autonomous Systems Design Engineer: Controls, Navigation, Sensors, and Simu

and the job listing Expires on February 28, 2026

Do you enjoy problem solving and applying your skills across a broad range of applications and research?

Do you have a passion for the design, analysis, simulation, and prototyping of innovative autonomous systems and algorithms?

If so, the Strike Guidance, Navigation, Controls (GNC), and Seekers group is looking for PhDs who are pursuing degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or Computer Science. Our group’s goal is to ensure the United States has a distinct technology advantage in autonomous systems by leading next generation development and prototyping. We do this by providing world class design solutions with a focus on:

• Guidance, Navigation, and Controls
• Radio Frequency (RF) or Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Sensors
• Modeling and Simulation (M&S)
• Hardware/Software Development and Test
• Multi-Disciplinary Design Optimization

We are seeking creative problem solvers with capabilities and interests to join our team in taking on a breadth of technical challenges. We work on a variety of systems including: hypersonic missiles, submarines, cruise missiles, and autonomous flight vehicles. We are committed to developing exceptional talent and supporting a culture of innovation, and as part of our group you will have the chance to grow your expertise across these technologies.

As a PhD member on our team you will…

• Have the opportunity to pioneer design and research in guidance, navigation, and control algorithms in support of the full lifecycle development of advanced systems.
• Develop innovative models for simulating and analyzing a variety of complex physics and sensors.
• Test the capability of software and algorithms within an embedded systems environment.
• Apply multi-disciplinary optimization techniques for early phase vehicle designs.
• Develop software to support sophisticated simulation and algorithm development.
• Collaborate with a team of engineers and interact with government sponsors.

Our team works on a set of subject areas that feed into the design of an autonomous system. The following sections provide some more background on those unique areas:

Guidance, Navigation, and Control

• We provide world class expertise in the areas of guidance, navigation, and control to support the full life cycle development of vehicles both as partners with contractors as well as in the development of our own prototype systems.
• Types of work:
  Advanced algorithm research and development and application of algorithms to flight test systems
• Degrees:
  Electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, mathematics
• Skills:
  
  Guidance, inertial navigation, modern/adaptive control, classical control, optimization

Radio Frequency and Electro-Optical/Infrared Sensor

• We develop sensor and seeker solutions for advanced autonomous systems and weapons.
• Types of work: RF and EO/IR system design, sensor and seeker performance analysis and M&S, and receiver signal processing
• Degrees:
  Electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, and computer science/engineering
• Skills:
  
  Electromagnetic wave propagation, RF antennas, optics, signal and image processing, radar, programming/coding

Modeling and Simulation

• We apply a wide range of skills to the development of multi-physics simulations for a broad range of concepts. We also use the models to analyze multi-disciplinary design problems.
• Types of work:
  Multi-disciplinary vehicle design optimization and analysis, high fidelity physics-based simulation modeling, algorithm development, simulation software architecture
• Degrees:
  Mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science/engineering
• Skills:
  
  Dynamics, programming/coding, algorithms, optimization

Hardware/Software Development and Testing

• We support sensor testing and characterization in conjunction with hardware-in-the-loop analysis for prototype systems advancing towards flight tests.
• Types of work:
  Hardware-in-the-loop development, sensor…