GNC/Autopilot Engineering Manager (All genders)

STARK

ABOUT US STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionizing the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost-effective. This provides our operators with a decisive edge in highly contested environments. We’re focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems - not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe - today. YOUR MISSION You will own the product roadmap for a set of capability teams working at the heart of STARK's autonomous systems programme, translating complex engineering realities into a coherent, prioritised path to operational impact. Sitting within the UxV Control organisation and reporting to the Head of Product Management, you will be the connective tissue between technical delivery teams and the wider programme, ensuring that what gets built, gets built in the right order, to the right standard, and for the right reasons. This is a role for someone who understands the physics and engineering behind what they're shaping, not just the process around it. RESPONSIBILITIES * Own and maintain the product roadmap across your capability teams, balancing technical dependencies, programme milestones, and stakeholder priorities * Lead sprint planning, backlog refinement, and PI planning cycles in close partnership with engineering leads * Translate operational requirements and customer inputs into well-defined epics, features, and user stories with clear acceptance criteria * Act as the primary interface between your capability teams and cross-functional stakeholders, including systems engineering, integration, and programme management * Drive trade-off decisions across scope, schedule, and technical risk, escalating clearly when alignment is needed above team level * Monitor and communicate team delivery health, surfacing blockers early and working with engineering leads to resolve them * Represent your capability domain in programme-level reviews, contributing to integrated roadmap planning across UxV Control * Contribute to definition of done and quality standards for software and firmware deliverables in a safety- and mission-critical context QUALIFICATIONS * 6+ years of experience in a technical product, systems, or engineering role, with a minimum of 3 years in a Product Manager or Product Owner capacity * Strong working knowledge of autonomous systems, flight dynamics, or guidance and control, sufficient to interrogate technical decisions and earn credibility with engineering teams * Proven experience managing product backlogs and roadmaps in an agile or scaled-agile environment (SAFe, LeSS, or equivalent) * Demonstrated ability to work across hardware and software delivery teams, ideally in a deeply interdependent systems context following the V-model * Comfortable operating in an environment where requirements evolve, ambiguity is normal, and pace is high * Fluent in English; German is a plus but not required NICE TO HAVE * Background in aerospace, defence, or robotics — either industry or academic * Familiarity with certification or verification frameworks relevant to autonomous or safety-critical systems (e.g. DO-178C, ARP4754) * Experience working in a dual-use or export-controlled technology environment * Exposure to model-based systems engineering (MBSE) or SysML at the requirements level If you're interested in building the future of European defence with us and you see yourself reflected in the description above, please send us your CV in English. We’re looking forward to meeting you.

STARK

ABOUT US STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionising the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop, and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost-effective — providing operators with a decisive edge in contested environments. We are focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems — not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe, today YOUR MISSION You will own the product roadmap for one of the hardest and most consequential capabilities in our autonomy stack: how our platforms know where they are when GPS isn't available or can't be trusted. You won't be writing the estimation filters yourself, but you'll be translating deep technical complexity into a roadmap that ships, and making sure engineering effort lands on the problems that matter most. Success looks like a localization capability that improves predictably, release over release, with clear priorities that the technical team trusts.  RESPONSIBILITIES * Own and drive the product roadmap for localization and navigation * Translate platform-level requirements and operational needs into clear, prioritized technical requirements for engineering * Partner closely with engineering leadership to balance roadmap ambition against technical feasibility, risk, and timeline * Define and track success metrics for localization performance (accuracy, robustness, drift, time-to-reacquisition) in product terms * Run the prioritization process: gather input from engineering, systems, and field/operations stakeholders, then make the call * Represent the localization roadmap to the Head of Product and cross-functional leadership, including trade-off decisions and risk * Maintain close visibility into technical constraints and emerging approaches without owning the technical architecture directly * Write clear product requirement docs, acceptance criteria, and release narratives that engineering can build against * Track competitive and technological landscape developments relevant to GNSS-independent navigation QUALIFICATIONS * 5+ years of product management experience, with demonstrated ownership of a technically complex roadmap * Strong technical fluency in localization, state estimation, or autonomy software — gained through close partnership with engineering (not necessarily as a hands-on engineer) * Proven ability to translate ambiguous, technically dense problems into clear product requirements and prioritized roadmaps * Track record of working directly with GNC, perception, or autonomy engineering teams to ship complex technical capability * Strong stakeholder management skills, with experience presenting roadmap and trade-off decisions to senior leadership * Excellent written communication: PRDs, requirements docs, and roadmap narratives that engineers can act on without a follow-up meeting * Fluent English; German is a plus NICE TO HAVE * Background in robotics, autonomous vehicles, aerospace, or defence-adjacent product management * Familiarity with SLAM, or sensor fusion concepts at a working (non-implementation) level * Experience working on products where performance must hold under adversarial or degraded operating conditions * Prior experience in a startup or fast-scaling engineering organization * Technical degree (engineering, robotics, physics, or similar) even without a hands-on engineering career If you're interested in building the future of European Defence with us, and you see yourself reflected on the description above, please send us your CV in English. We´re looking forward to meeting you!

Alten

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more. As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing. When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow. Workplace: On-site, 5 days per week Location: Huntsville, Alabama or Tucson, AZ The GNC Principal Engineer is the overall technical authority for the Kinetic Air and Missile Defense Division. The GNC PE is responsible for supporting the development, integration, and testing of software and systems used in guidance, navigation, and control. The role involves working in a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary environment to solve complex engineering problems. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in GNC algorithm development, software integration, and testing, along with hands-on experience in missile systems. The Principal Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer works with our Design team to develop a variety of innovative Defense/Missile Systems for defense and commercial applications. This position will interact with Controls Engineers to allocate requirements and develop architectures to drive simulation models. These development efforts will generally be small focused design teams, which will require engineers to use a range of skills and tools across traditional engineering, computer science, and mathematical disciplines. Because of the nature of the development efforts, the engineer will need to work on a variety of stages of development including requirements definition, concept design, prototyping, detailed design, validation and verification testing. You will also need to be comfortable with supporting missile tests at remote sites, engaging in various testing and simulation activities to validate and enhance system performance. Key Job Responsibilities     • Develop and implement GNC algorithms for missile systems.     • Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams on software development and integration efforts.     • Execute testing, data collection, and analysis, including hardware-in-the-loop and multi-functional testing.     • Work on 6DoF (Six Degrees of Freedom) modeling and simulations for performance validation.     • Assist in the development and execution of test plans and reports, presenting data to both large and small audiences.     • Ensure the application of best practices and standards in system design and testing.     • Supports the development of plans for product IRAD and sustaining projects through proper work decomposition and skills assignment to project work tasks     • Develops and mentors high-performing engineering teams     • Partners with functional leaders to drive process improvements throughout the engineering development processes     • Other duties as assigned      Required Qualifications     • Master Degree or PhD in a Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering discipline (or equivalent).     • U.S. Citizenship required     • Existing DoD Secret security clearance required     • Experience with Defense products and customers, especially in C-UAS products     • Minimum of 15 years of demonstrated experience in GNC engineering, specifically in missile or aerospace systems     • Expertise in GNC algorithm development, including guidance, navigation, and autopilot algorithms     • Experience in an Agile and Waterfall development environment     • Excellent verbal, presentation, and written communication skills     • Experience project planning in terms of schedule, budget, and resource estimations     • Exceptional leadership and management skills, with the ability to develop and communicate a vision that inspires and motivates staff and aligns with the business strategy     • Ability to build strong relationships within all disciplines within organization     • Effective influencing and negotiation skills in an environment in which resources may not be under your direct control     • Experienced and proficient with MS Office applications and other office productivity tools     • Travel required to domestic US sites - up to 10%      Preferred Qualifications     • Follows standard practices and procedures when analyzing situations or data from which answers can be readily obtained. Completes assigned tasks within schedule and budget     • Shares ideas and experiences with others, solicits feedback and asks relevant questions     • Able to excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, where small teams share a broad variety of duties     • Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives     • Takes ownership and responsibility for current and past work products     • Is committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company     • Has effective problem-solving, analytical, interpersonal and communication skills     • Team Player - Focuses on teamwork, collaboration and puts the success of the team above one's own interests     • Inspires, motivates, and empowers people to deliver organizational goals, while also delivering value back to employees       Salary Range     • $155,000-$170,000     • The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate’s combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy. Please beware of job seeker scams and see this important notice on our careers page for more information about our recruiting process. Compliance Notice: Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Drug Screening Requirement: As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.