Senior Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) Engineer

Senior Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) Engineer AION Robotics builds best in class autonomous vehicles designed for critical infrastructure monitoring, construction, mining and energy. Our vehicles operate in the toughest off-highway environments, where safety, accuracy, and efficiency are paramount. We are seeking a highly experienced GNC Engineer to design and optimize next-generation control architectures for our real-time edge autonomous systems. Location: Arvada, Colorado Company: AION ROBOTICS CORPORATION Key Responsibilities As a Senior GNC Engineer at AION Robotics, you will: Design and implement robust vehicle control architectures optimized for real-time edge computing in challenging 3D outdoor environments. Develop and refine multi-sensor fusion frameworks combining advanced odometry, IMU calibration/filtering, GNSS, LiDAR, and vision-based localization. Control system development including motion control, advanced PID tuning, optimization-based model-predictive control strategies. Build and integrate navigation planners and mapping solutions with accurate transform calculations and geo-referencing. Develop safety-critical embedded systems for autonomous vehicles, including HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop) simulation and low-level safety monitoring. Integrate and optimize communication and control over CAN bus, working closely with sensor and actuator drivers. Collaborate across hardware, software, and perception teams to ensure tightly coupled system integration. Provide electrical and sensor-level insights (including MEMS IMUs and other precision sensors) to improve vehicle stability, accuracy, and robustness. Contribute to ROS2-based system architecture, ensuring modular, reliable, and scalable implementations. Qualifications We are looking for candidates who bring: Proven expertise in GNC engineering, ideally with autonomous vehicle or robotics applications. Strong background in sensor fusion, with hands-on experience integrating multiple odometry sources, IMUs, GNSS, LiDAR, and visual SLAM. Deep understanding of control systems, including motion control, advanced PID, and nonlinear/optimal control methods. Strong ROS2 experience, including navigation stacks, transform handling, and middleware integration. Hands-on experience with HIL simulation environments for control validation and tuning. Low-level embedded systems experience, including safety-critical architectures, CAN bus, and real-time firmware. Solid electrical engineering foundation with familiarity in MEMS sensors, calibration, and sensor-level signal processing. Strong programming skills (C++, Python, or embedded C). A track record of deploying robust control systems in real-world robotics or autonomous platforms. Preferred Experience Background in off-highway, aerospace, defense, or rugged autonomous systems. Familiarity with GPU-accelerated or edge compute architectures (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson). Experience with redundancy strategies and fault-tolerant control. Strong understanding of 3D outdoor mapping, localization, and terrain-adaptive navigation. Why Join AION Robotics? Work on cutting-edge autonomous vehicles tackling some of the hardest real-world environments. Direct opportunity to shape the future of autonomy in construction, mining, energy and defense sectors. Help build a world-class, efficient team of high ownership roboticists, engineers, and innovators. Competitive compensation, equity opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. Compensation and Benefits: Robotics Engineer: $150,000.00 - $250,000.00/per year This position is eligible for: Restricted Stock Options Aggressive Annual Bonus & Base Salary Reviews Personalized PTO Wellness Program 401K Retirement Plan Medical, Vision & Dental AION Robotics is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with AION Robotics is governed based on merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. Salary: $150,000 - $250,000 per year