What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior GNC Engineer position at Icarus?
At Icarus, we build solar-powered drones that fly at the edge of space for a very long time. This isn’t a job for spectators. As a Senior GNC Engineer, you will architect, implement, and flight-test the algorithms that keep our aircraft stable, autonomous, and alive in one of the harshest environments on Earth. From day one, you will design and tune real control systems for real flight hardware, not simulations that never leave a lab.
You will work closely with the CEO and the core engineering team to own guidance, navigation, control, estimation, autonomy, and flight performance. You’ll take systems from early models to high-altitude flight, write code that survives the stratosphere, validate across hardware-in-the-loop, and iterate fast between El Segundo and Mojave.
We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. Just raw engineering with flight on the line. You must thrive under pressure, debug in the field, and push algorithms and hardware until they break. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality, safety, and speed.
Compensation: $150k-$210k depending on experience, plus equity
Perks:
- Daily lunch and unlimited Celsius
- Your ideal desk setup, tools included
- Top-tier healthcare, dental, and vision, plus HSA
- 2 weeks PTO to reset and recharge
Full-time onsite in El Segundo, CA
Salary : $150,000 - $210,000