Staff Flight Research Controls & Navigation Engineer (Santa Cruz)

Company OverviewJoby Flight Research designs, develops, and flight-tests novel aircraft using a software-first autonomy approach. We build and deploy autonomy, perception, planning, and radar systems across conventional, electric, and hydrogen-electric aircraft in both CTOL and VTOL configurations.OverviewJoby Aviation's Flight Research team is looking for a Staff-level GNC & Navigation Engineer to serve as the senior technical integrator across flight controls, guidance, navigation, and perception for advanced aircraft programs. This role sits at the intersection of multiple disciplines: controls, state estimation, and perception-driven navigation. The engineer is responsible for architecting and implementing the solution.We are a small, close-knit, and agile team building and flying experimental VTOL and CTOL aircraft. The engineer will lead the design of integrated GNC and navigation systems, drive technical decisions across the stack from algorithm design through flight-test validation, and mentor junior engineers. This is a hands-on role: you will write production flight software, analyze flight data, stand in the ground station as a required crew member, and shape the technical direction of multiple concurrent aircraft programs.ResponsibilitiesOwn the integrated architecture spanning flight controls, guidance, navigation, and perception-driven state estimation across VTOL and CTOL platforms.Design and deliver high-quality, real-time C++ flight software for control laws, multi-sensor fusion, and navigation algorithms.Lead the development of state estimation systems incorporating inertial, air data, perception, and external sensor inputs, including multi-object tracking and vision-based navigation.Drive closed-loop and open-loop stability and performance analysis for control and estimation(C++/Python), ensuring robustness across the flight envelope.Architect navigation infrastructure including estimation frameworks that cleanly integrate perception outputs into the control and mission-management stacks.Formulate and execute flight-test plans for quantitative characterization of controls and navigation performance.Develop and maintain simulation environments and analysis tooling used for aircraft design iteration, algorithm validation, and post-flight evaluation.Provide technical leadership and mentorship to GNC engineers; influence team roadmap and architectural decisions.Work tightly with perception, autonomy, and systems engineers to ensure well-integrated end-to-end solutions from sensor to actuator.Required10+ years of industry experience in GNC, navigation, or closely related disciplines, with contributions across multiple aircraft programs.Expert-level understanding of aircraft dynamics, modern control methods (robust control, optimal control), and state estimation (Kalman filtering, nonlinear filtering, or factor-graph methods).Deep experience designing multi-sensor fusion systems or navigation pipelines that integrate inertial, air-data, and perception-based measurements.Proven track record writing real-time, safety-critical C++ flight software that has been validated in flight test.Strong proficiency in C++ and Python, with experience building simulation and linear/nonlinear analysis tools for dynamic systems.Experience with real-time signal processing and flight-data analysis.Demonstrated technical leadership: architecture ownership, design-review facilitation, and mentorship of junior engineers.This position must meet US export control compliance requirements, therefore a candidate must qualify as a “US Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15. “US Person” includes US Citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees, or asylees.DesiredExperience developing flight controls and automation algorithms for both CTOL and VTOL aircraft, ideally including eVTOL at subscale or larger.Hands-on experience with perception-integrated state estimation, vision-based navigation, or camera-model/pixel-measurement systems.Experience with factor-graph estimation frameworks or differentiable optimization tools (e.g., SymForce, Ceres, GTSAM).Experience with system identification, sensor calibration, and automatic differentiation tools.Experience developing and executing flight-test experiments for quantitative evaluation of both controls and navigation performance.Track record of shipping integrated GNC + navigation solutions that span multiple subsystem boundaries.Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $203,800 - $273,000/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.Additional InformationJoby is an Equal Opportunity Employer.Job SummaryID: 2026-5242Category: Flight ResearchType: Regular Full-Time