GNC Lead

Job description

**Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability** At **Hypersonica**, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast. By joining **Hypersonica**, you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously. We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence. ### What you'll do - Own and lead Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) as a core vehicle capability, taking responsibility from early concept through flight‑ready performance. - Define the GNC architecture and strategy for hypersonic vehicles, ensuring guidance laws, navigation approaches, and control systems work as a coherent whole. - Develop and validate closed‑loop GNC solutions suitable for high‑speed, high‑dynamic, and contested flight environments. - Lead the creation and maturation of high‑fidelity GNC models, including 3‑DoF and 6‑DoF simulations, and ensure alignment with flight physics and vehicle dynamics. - Work tightly with Systems Engineering to ensure requirements, verification plans, and performance margins are clear, owned, and defensible. - Collaborate closely with avionics, software, mechanical, and HIL teams to ensure GNC algorithms are implementable, testable, and robust in real hardware. - Own GNC performance through HIL, ground test, and flight test, analysing results, closing gaps, and iterating designs at pace. - Set technical direction and standards for GNC development, balancing rigour with speed in a fast‑moving, prototype‑driven environment. - Act as the technical authority for GNC decisions, trade‑offs, and risk acceptance. - Build and lead a small, highly capable GNC team, setting expectations for quality, ownership, and delivery. ### Who you are - A senior GNC engineer or technical leader with deep experience in guidance, navigation, and control for aerospace or missile systems. - Strong grounding in control theory, estimation, and flight dynamics, with practical experience applying these to real, closed‑loop systems. - Experienced developing and validating 6‑DoF GNC models, and comfortable reasoning about vehicle‑level behaviour, not just algorithms in isolation. - Comfortable operating across software, avionics, and systems boundaries, with an instinct for integration and testability. - Experienced taking GNC systems beyond simulation, through HIL, integration, and flight test, and learning quickly from real data. - Able to operate as both a hands‑on technical contributor and a leader, setting direction while still engaging deeply with the work. - Calm, decisive, and technically credible under pressure, with the judgement to make irreversible decisions when required. - Comfortable working in defence, high‑consequence, or safety‑critical environments where performance margins matter. - Motivated by building sovereign, world‑class flight capability, not incremental optimisation or academic exercises. ### What we offer - A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security. - Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow. - High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes. - A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions. - A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly. - Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.