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Hypersonica

Posted 2 months ago

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81 GNC Lead

MunichOn-siteFull-time

AI Summary

Senior GNC engineer or technical leader responsible for defining, validating, and delivering guidance, navigation, and control for hypersonic vehicles, from concept to flight-ready systems.

About this role

Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability

At Hypersonica, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast.

By joining Hypersonica, you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously.

We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence.

What you'll do

  • Own and lead Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) as a core vehicle capability, taking responsibility from early concept through flight‑ready performance.

  • Define the GNC architecture and strategy for hypersonic vehicles, ensuring guidance laws, navigation approaches, and control systems work as a coherent whole.

  • Develop and validate closed‑loop GNC solutions suitable for high‑speed, high‑dynamic, and contested flight environments.

  • Lead the creation and maturation of high‑fidelity GNC models, including 3‑DoF and 6‑DoF simulations, and ensure alignment with flight physics and vehicle dynamics.

  • Work tightly with Systems Engineering to ensure requirements, verification plans, and performance margins are clear, owned, and defensible.

  • Collaborate closely with avionics, software, mechanical, and HIL teams to ensure GNC algorithms are implementable, testable, and robust in real hardware.

  • Own GNC performance through HIL, ground test, and flight test, analysing results, closing gaps, and iterating designs at pace.

  • Set technical direction and standards for GNC development, balancing rigour with speed in a fast‑moving, prototype‑driven environment.

  • Act as the technical authority for GNC decisions, trade‑offs, and risk acceptance.

  • Build and lead a small, highly capable GNC team, setting expectations for quality, ownership, and delivery.

Who you are

  • A senior GNC engineer or technical leader with deep experience in guidance, navigation, and control for aerospace or missile systems.

  • Strong grounding in control theory, estimation, and flight dynamics, with practical experience applying these to real, closed‑loop systems.

  • Experienced developing and validating 6‑DoF GNC models, and comfortable reasoning about vehicle‑level behaviour, not just algorithms in isolation.

  • Comfortable operating across software, avionics, and systems boundaries, with an instinct for integration and testability.

  • Experienced taking GNC systems beyond simulation, through HIL, integration, and flight test, and learning quickly from real data.

  • Able to operate as both a hands‑on technical contributor and a leader, setting direction while still engaging deeply with the work.

  • Calm, decisive, and technically credible under pressure, with the judgement to make irreversible decisions when required.

  • Comfortable working in defence, high‑consequence, or safety‑critical environments where performance margins matter.

  • Motivated by building sovereign, world‑class flight capability, not incremental optimisation or academic exercises.

What we offer

  • A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security.

  • Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow.

  • High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes.

  • A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions.

  • A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly.

  • Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.

Skills

3-DoF And 6-DoF GNC ModelingClosed-loop Control SystemsControl TheoryEstimation TheoryFlight DynamicsFlight TestingGNC Architectures And StrategiesHardware-in-the-loop (HIL) TestingModel-based DevelopmentRequirements TraceabilitySimulation (GNC)Systems Engineering CollaborationVehicle DynamicsVerification And Validation Planning

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