GNC Aerospace Engineer (Controls Specialist)

CoAspire is a cutting‑edge defense manufacturing leader in Northern Virginia, specializing in the precision assembly of advanced weapons systems. With over twelve years of a legacy of innovation, we're at the forefront of building reliable, affordable mass weapons that protect and empower our nation’s warfighters. Our tight-knit team thrives in a collaborative environment where safety, quality, and work‑life balance come first with a focus on professional growth at our new 27,000+ sq. ft. facility. Join us to make a tangible impact on mission‑critical technology while enjoying Northern Virginia's vibrant community. What you will do: You will support the design, development, and testing of flight control systems for our weapons programs. Working alongside experienced GNC and controls engineers, you will contribute to control law development, simulation, and performance analysis - building hands‑on expertise in classical and modern control theory applied to high-performance aerospace platforms in a fast-paced defense environment. Responsibilities: Support development and testing of flight control laws, including autopilot design, stability augmentation systems, and inner/outer loop architectures. Assist in linear analysis tasks including trim, linearization, gain and phase margin evaluation, and root locus and Bode-based loop shaping. Run control system performance trade studies and simulation campaigns across the flight envelope and summarize results for senior engineers. Develop and maintain simulation tools and scripts for control law evaluation, data reduction, and performance visualization. Assist in gain scheduling design and validation across Mach and altitude breakpoints. Support integration of control models with navigation, guidance, and aerodynamic subsystems within 6‑DoF simulation environments. Help diagnose control system performance issues by analyzing simulation outputs, flight test data, and frequency‑domain metrics. Prepare technical documentation, analysis summaries, Bode/Nichols/root locus plots, and time‑history results for internal design reviews. Participate in process and toolchain improvements under the direction of senior controls engineers. Basic Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, plus approximately 2 years of relevant experience — or a Master's degree in a related field with hands‑on controls coursework or research. Solid foundation in classical control theory, including frequency-domain methods (Bode, Nyquist, root locus), stability margins, and compensator design. Exposure to modern and advanced control techniques — such as LQR/LQG, H-infinity, model predictive control (MPC), or nonlinear dynamic inversion (NDI) — through coursework, research, or professional experience. Programming proficiency in C++ and MATLAB/Simulink for control system modeling, simulation, and scripting. Familiarity with linearization, trim analysis, and state-space representations of dynamic systems. Familiarity with linearization, trim analysis, and state-space representations of dynamic systems. Strong analytical mindset with rigorous attention to validation, verification, and engineering accuracy. U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain security clearance or background-screening requirements. Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative, team-oriented environment. Preferred Qualifications: Graduate-level coursework or thesis work in flight control, robust control, nonlinear control, or flight mechanics. Exposure to gain scheduling, adaptive control, or control allocation techniques for aerospace applications. Familiarity with C++ for control algorithm implementation or real-time applications. Prior internship, co‑op, or research experience on aerospace or defense platforms. Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) or software-in-the-loop (SWIL) flight control testing environments. Beyond competitive pay, we offer: Full benefits from day one: medical, dental and vision 401(k) with generous company match and immediate vesting PTO and Federal holidays The anticipated salary range for this position is $80,000-$125,000. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity. #J-18808-Ljbffr CoAspire