GNC Engineer (Covina, CA)

On-Site | Covina, CA | Full-Time 

About Peregrine 

Peregrine Industries builds affordable, U.S.-made autonomous systems for tactical strike, counter-UAS, training, and defense modernization missions. Our platforms include Kestrel and DRACO, backed by PTEC, our modular tactical effects core. 

We move fast, hold ourselves to honest engineering standards, and build hardware that has to work the first time in the field. 

About the Role 

We are seeking a hands-on Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer to own and mature the flight-control systems that make Peregrine aircraft fly, navigate, and perform reliably in operational environments.

You will work across control laws, state estimation, flight dynamics, simulation, autopilot software, sensors, actuators, propulsion, telemetry, and autonomy. This is not a simulation-only role. You will develop algorithms, integrate them into real aircraft, analyze flight data, troubleshoot anomalies, and support flight testing in the field.

The ideal candidate understands how the entire flight stack works together and can trace problems across sensors, estimators, controllers, actuators, airframe dynamics, and software. You will work directly with our autonomy, embedded software, electrical, mechanical, and flight-test teams to rapidly improve Kestrel and future Peregrine systems. 

What you’ll do 

  • Own and develop GNC capabilities for Peregrine fixed-wing and VTOL aircraft, including stabilization, guidance, navigation, flight control, and transition logic.
  • Design, implement, tune, and flight-validate attitude, rate, position, velocity, and trajectory-control algorithms.
  • Develop and tune state-estimation and sensor-fusion systems using IMU, GNSS, barometer, magnetometer, air-data, and other navigation inputs.
  • Develop guidance and navigation capabilities for autonomous mission execution, waypoint navigation, terminal behaviors, and degraded or GNSS-denied environments.
  • Work with autonomy and software engineers to integrate mission logic, perception, navigation, and vehicle-control functions.
  • Integrate and troubleshoot flight-critical subsystems including autopilots, sensors, servos, ESCs, propulsion systems, datalinks, telemetry, and ground-control stations.
  • Build and maintain flight-dynamics and 6DOF simulation models for control development, tuning, and validation before flight.
  • Analyze flight logs and telemetry to identify instability, estimator errors, sensor faults, actuator issues, aerodynamic effects, and software defects.
  • Support structured ground and flight testing, including test planning, instrumentation, parameter tuning, data collection, and post-flight analysis.
  • Use flight-test results to improve aircraft stability, navigation accuracy, maneuverability, reliability, and mission performance.
  • Develop internal tools and scripts for simulation, flight-data analysis, tuning, and system debugging.
  • Work directly with aircraft in the shop and field and support customer demonstrations and operational test events as required.

What we’re looking for 

  • 3+ years of hands-on experience in GNC, flight controls, autonomy, robotics, or a closely related aerospace discipline.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
  • Strong fundamentals in classical and modern control theory, rigid-body dynamics, state estimation, and aircraft flight dynamics.
  • Hands-on experience developing, tuning, or modifying flight-control systems on real flying hardware.
  • Experience with fixed-wing, VTOL, multicopter, or other autonomous aircraft.
  • Experience with EKF-based state estimation and multi-sensor fusion.
  • Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, or comparable embedded autopilot architectures.
  • Proficiency in C/C++ and/or Python.
  • Experience with MATLAB, Simulink, or comparable modeling and simulation tools.
  • Ability to interpret flight logs and trace problems across sensor, estimator, controller, actuator, and aircraft-dynamics layers.
  • Comfort working directly with aircraft hardware and participating in field flight-test operations.

Strongly preferred 

  • Deep experience with fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and transition control.
  • Experience with TECS, NPFG, L1 guidance, trajectory generation, or comparable control architectures.
  • Experience developing navigation systems for degraded or GNSS-denied environments.
  • Experience with MAVLink, telemetry systems, embedded Linux, real-time systems, or UAS communications architectures.
  • Experience with EO/IR payloads, terminal guidance, perception-driven navigation, or autonomous targeting systems.
  • Experience building aerodynamic or flight-dynamics models from flight-test or CFD data.
  • Experience with software-in-the-loop (SIL) or hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation.
  • Experience supporting defense UAS, autonomous weapons, military flight testing, or operational deployments.
  • Experience working in a startup or rapid-development environment where engineers take systems from prototype through flight test.
  • Ability and willingness to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Working conditions 

Primarily shop-floor/office work. Must be able to perform repetitive hand and wrist movements, reach overhead, bend or stoop, sit or stand for extended periods, and occasionally team-lift up to 100 lbs. Some outdoor support work during field and flight test events. 

To apply

Send a resume and cover letter (optional) to careers@pdxweapons.com.

Peregrine Industries is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Position is subject to U.S. export-control regulations; applicants must qualify as U.S. Persons under ITAR.