Advanced Programs Flight Controls Engineer
Poway, California
Overview
General Atomics pioneers technologies with the potential to change the world. Behind a talented global team of engineers, GA delivers safe, sustainable, and economical solutions to meet growing global demands. Our Engineers have an opportunity to work on first of a kind product lines within an incredible, dynamic environment.
Engineering positions typically require a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience. Candidates from mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering backgrounds must know the fundamentals of engineering system developments, requirements, testing, and integration before getting to the final stages of customer interface and project management.
Schedule: Full-Time Salary
Job Level: Mid-Level (3-7 years)
Travel: 0 - 25
Success Profile
What makes a successful Advanced Programs Flight Controls Engineer at General Atomics? Check out the top traits we’re looking for and see if you have the right mix.
- Analytical
- Collaborative
- Inventive
- Problem Solver
- Team Player
- Creative
Job Summary General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a world leader in proven, reliable remotely piloted aircraft and tactical reconnaissance radars, as well as advanced high-resolution surveillance systems.
We have an exciting opportunity for an Advanced Programs Flight Controls Engineer in the San Diego (Poway, CA) area. In this position, you will play an active role in the design and development of cutting-edge next generation unmanned aircraft platforms. Responsibilities include control law design and analysis, physics model generation, and code verification and validation. These responsibilities can span the entire lifecycle of a new aircraft development program, from requirements refinement to detailed design to prototype flight tests. You will have the chance to contribute to a broad swath of novel aircraft platforms ranging from Small Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) to Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). This position offers competitive benefits, including 9/80 work schedule, medical, dental, employer-matched 401(k), pension plan, employee referral program, and more.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Perform GNC-related tasks for all phases of a new aircraft development program, including use case refinement, requirements development, clean-sheet design, software integration and validation, flight test planning, and analysis of flight data through prototype flight tests.
- Translate the physics of flight control avionics, aerodynamic characteristics, and mass properties of a conceptual aircraft into MATLAB scripts and Simulink models for real-time simulation and automatic code generation.
- Design discrete flight control laws, continually performing stability and flying qualities analyses.
- Independently verify and validate the embedded control law software on the simulated and actual hardware.
- Support development of analytic tools as needed for novel aircraft configurations.
- Participate in internal and customer-facing design reviews, test readiness reviews, flight briefings, and technical interchange meetings.
- Collaborate among peers, as part of a multi-disciplinary team (Systems, Software, Mechanical, and Electrical engineering), to solve unique and complex engineering challenges.
We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply.
Job Qualifications:
- Typically requires a bachelors degree, masters degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience as follows; six or more years of experience with a bachelors degree, four or more years of experience with a masters degree, or two or more years with a PhD. May substitute equivalent engineering experience in lieu of education.
- Relevant background in the areas of low- and high-speed aerodynamics, control systems, and aircraft dynamics.
- Experience with MATLAB/Simulink modeling, simulation, and analysis of linear and nonlinear dynamic systems.
- Strong knowledge of classical and modern control theory, lower order modeling, and filtering techniques.
- Ability to self-motivate and self-organize to achieve program established deadlines; proactively working independently and collaborating with other disciplines and seeking out help when appropriate.
- Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills to effectively interface with other departments, customers, and/or government representatives.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret security clearance is required.
- Experience with flight control design and analysis for fixed and rotary wing aircraft or missile systems.
- Experience designing Simulink models for code generation and integration into an established C/C++ codebase.
- Familiarity with Stateflow, Python, and/or C/C++.
- Exposure to adjacent technical areas, including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), aerodynamics and performance, and/or aircraft structures.
Salary:$98,100 - $171,398
Benefits
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Healthcare
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Pension, 401(k)/Retirement Plans
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Competitive Pay
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Multiple product lines means a variety of work
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Paid Time Off

“The company is growing, has a very good reputation and had open positions in my area of expertise (aircraft design/design methodology development).”– Peter, Senior Staff Engineer

“We don't ascribe to quotas; we do ascribe to securing the BEST talent to enrich our culture toward healthy diversification and active/viable community service. We are STEM advocates.”– Debra, CSSBB: Staff Engineer

“Every day is different, with different problems to solve and many programs to support. I am a problem solver and have always been motivated by the tough questions.”– Scott, Laser Scientist

“I work in the Components Engineering and Obsolescence Management Dept. Our efforts are saving General Atomics several millions of dollars by proactively leading and informing the company of all these decisions which significantly impact production, sustainment and new designs.”– John, Staff Engineer
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