Apply on Employer Site

Pivotal · 2 days ago

Senior GNC Engineer - Flight Control Verification

Palo Alto, CA

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level

$152K/yr - $172K/yr

5+ years exp

Pivotal is the leader in the emerging market of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. They are seeking a Senior GNC Engineer to focus on requirements definition, verification, and validation of GNC features for their eVTOL aircraft, emphasizing collaboration with various teams to ensure robust safety-critical features.

AerospaceAir TransportationAutonomous VehiclesManufacturing

Work & Life Balance

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Define and refine requirements for flight guidance, navigation and control features

Plan and execute system-level verification and validation activities, including MIL/SIL testing, simulations (e.g. Monte Carlo simulations) and flight test campaigns

Develop flight and/or simulation test cases that probe requirement compliance under worst-case environmental and system conditions

Collaborate with systems engineering and flight test teams to align requirements, simulation results, and flight validation

Analyze flight test data to evaluate compliance with requirements and identify gaps or edge cases

Document test plans, results, and compliance evidence for safety and certification purposes

Contribute to continuous improvement of verification processes, standards, and infrastructure

Mentor junior engineers on verification best practices

Qualification

Flight control systemsFlight dynamicsMATLAB/SimulinkKalman filtersSensor fusionSafety-critical systemsFlight test activitiesScripting experienceUAV experienceVersion control (Git)Problem-solving skillsCommunication skills

Required

5+ years of experience in flight control systems, verification, or flight test support

Solid understanding of flight dynamics, state estimation (Kalman filters, sensor fusion, sensor characteristics) and control systems (envelope protection, stability, handling qualities)

Demonstrated ability to define requirements and design verification strategies for safety-critical systems

Experience planning or executing flight test activities

Strong problem-solving and communication skills; able to work across teams

Proficiency with MATLAB/Simulink and Python for modeling and analysis

Preferred

Experience with Simulink Test, test harness creation, automated regression, and coverage analysis

Familiarity with static/dynamic code analysis tools (e.g., Polyspace)

Knowledge of safety/reliability standards (DO-178C, DO-331, ISO 26262, etc.)

Familiarity with system identification and control analysis tools (e.g., CIFER, CONDUIT)

Scripting experience (Python, MATLAB, etc.) for test automation and data analysis

Hands-on experience with UAVs, RC aircraft, or flight test instrumentation

Experience with version control (Git), requirements management tools, and scripting (Python, MATLAB)

Benefits

Medical

Dental

Vision

401k plans

Company

Pivotal

Pivotal develops and builds antonymous, electric propulsion VTOL aircraft for people & cargo in consumer, defense & public safety markets

Founded in 2016

Palo Alto, California, USA

51-200 employees

https://pivotal.aero

H1B Sponsorship

Pivotal has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

Represents job field similar to this job

Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (8)

2024 (6)