Sentinel - Hypersonic Testbed GN&C Engineer
United States-Alabama-Huntsville · United States-Utah-Roy$98.4k–$184kPosted Jul 14, 2026
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret
TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time
## Description
At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.
Join Northrop Grumman on our continued mission to push the boundaries of possible across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Enjoy a culture where your voice is valued and start contributing to our team of passionate professionals providing real-life solutions to our world’s biggest challenges. We take pride in creating purposeful work and allowing our employees to grow and achieve their goals every day by Defining Possible. With our competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, we have the right opportunities to fit your life and launch your career today.
Northrop Grumman Defense Systems is seeking a Principal GN&C Engineer/Sr. Principal GN&C Engineer. This opening is in Huntsville, AL or Roy, UT.
What you will get to do:
Hypersonic Testbed Guidance Navigation and Control (GN&C) Engineer
The engineer in this role will support the technical development of the Hypersonic Testbed vehicles' autopilot for precision at high Mach in Exoatmospheric and Endoatmospheric flight. The engineer is expected to have expertise in both classical and modern control theory for autopilot development (PID controller design, gain scheduling, optimal and robust control techniques). The engineer is responsible for the maturation of existing control algorithms and analysis tools as well as the tuning of the autopilot(s) for emerging missions supporting a variety of SDS Futures Programs. The engineer in this role will support covariance analysis and circular error probable accuracy assessment. In addition to a heavy focus on autopilot development the engineer in this role will:
* Participate in engineering review boards, technical interchange meetings and critical milestone reviews
* Determine and report incremental performance improvements
* Respond to analysis package requests
* Perform trajectory assessment and flight analyses
* Collaborate with a team of GN&C engineers in an Agile environment to meet critical milestones
* Develop and analyze GNC algorithms (Guidance, Navigation, Autopilot)
* Develop, verify, and validate complex 6 degrees of freedom vehicle models
* Model missile components such as inertial measurement units (IMU), electronic control actuators, and thrust vector control (TVC) systems.
* Use C++ and MATLAB and Object-Oriented design
* Conduct multidisciplinary research and collaborate with equipment designers and/or hardware engineers in the planning, design, development stages utilizing (M&S) tools systems for safety and mission critical analysis
* Work with the GN&C Flight Software Team to automatically generate code from high-level specifications or models, ensuring consistency and reducing manual errors
* Will serve on one or more Advanced Programs (SDS Futures' Group) initiatives in the hypersonic arena.
Basic Qualifications:
Principal GN&C Engineer:
* Bachelor's degree in STEM and 5 years of experience, 3 years of experience with master’s degree, 0 years of experience with PhD.
* Must have an active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at time of...