Navigation Engineer
Wing offers drone delivery as a safe, fast, and sustainable solution for last mile logistics. Consumer appetites for on-demand services are increasing, but current delivery methods are inefficient, costly, and contribute to road accidents and air pollution. Wing’s fleet of highly automated delivery drones can transport small packages directly from businesses to homes on-demand, in minutes. We design, build, and operate our aircraft, and offer drone delivery services on two continents. Our technology is designed to be easy to integrate into existing delivery and logistics networks, offering a scalable drone delivery solution for a broad range of businesses. Wing is a part of Google's parent company, Alphabet, and our mission is to create the preferred means of delivery for the planet. If you're ready to do the greatest work of your life, come join us.
Wing is looking for a Navigation Engineer to join our Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) team. This role will be based in Palo Alto, CA, or remote within the United States. This position seeks a Guidance, Navigation, and Control engineer who has experience creating reliable advanced autonomy algorithms for aerospace systems. We are looking for people who are capable of developing highly practical algorithmic solutions to address operational needs for our drone delivery system. The candidate thrives in a cross-functional multidisciplinary environment with software, electrical, mechanical, flight test, and embedded software engineers.
- Create and own innovative and reliable Guidance, Navigation, and Control solutions for our autonomous aircraft fleet to drive business impact and commercial success.
- Provide expertise in various sensor modalities, including GNSS and inertial systems, and their integration into broader autonomous aircraft systems.
- Perform analysis on GNSS sensor data ranging from prototypes to large-scale production operations to inform requirements and designs and implement solutions to improve performance for business impact and commercial success.
- Create analyses, establish requirements, write and review design documents, implement code, and perform verification and validation of productionized flightworthy software in MATLAB, Python, and/or C++.
- Share deep technical knowledge with the broader team on GNSS and inertial navigation modalities, including design, implementation, verification and validation techniques.
- Collaborate cross-functionally between aircraft software, perception, hardware, and test teams.
- Develop filtering solutions, such as Kalman Filters and other linear and non-linear filters, to fuse information from a variety of sensor technologies.
- Conduct trade studies for sensor and algorithm designs. Perform risk assessments of different types of algorithms as applied to real-world scenarios.
- Have ownership and cognisance of systems throughout the entire life-cycle: concept, design, implementation, lab and flight testing and evaluation, fielding, and support.
- 8+ years of experience in Guidance, Navigation, and Control for aerospace systems.
- MS degree, PhD, or equivalent practical experience in Aerospace, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
- Experience working on multi-sensor fusion navigation systems for aerospace systems, including GNSS/INS integration.
- Experience writing embedded safety critical software in C++, Matlab, and/or Python.
- Technical depth in at least two of the following areas: aircraft dynamics and control, multi-modal sensor fusion, contingency management, GNSS position engine development, INS/GNSS navigation system development, UAV path planning algorithms, and/or GNC simulation and data analysis.
- Expertise in Kalman Filtering and other estimation methods.
The US base salary range for this full-time position is the salary range below + bonus + equity + benefits. Wing’s salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
Wing is an equal opportunity employer and it is Wing's policy to comply with all applicable national, state and local laws pertaining to nondiscrimination and equal opportunity. Employment at Wing is based solely on a person's merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence. Wing does not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), or any other basis protected by law.
If you have a need that requires accommodation during the interview process due to a disability or special need, please let us know by completing our Candidate Accommodations Request Form.
- How much does the Navigation Engineer at Wing pay?
- The posting lists a range of $182K–$242K per year. Ranges reflect what Wing publicly declared on the source posting.
- Where is this Navigation Engineer role based?
- The role is based in Palo Alto, California; Remote, USA and is open to remote candidates.
- What experience does Wing expect for this role?
- The posting is tagged as a mid-level role, typically 3+ years of experience. Check the requirements section for specifics.
- Where is Wing headquartered?
- Wing is headquartered in Palo Alto, USA.
- How was this posting sourced?
- This role was pulled directly from Wing's Greenhouse careers site. Apply links open in the employer's own ATS — no reposts or aggregator middleware.
Apply links open in the employer's official ATS. Always verify recruitment messages on the company's careers page before sharing personal information.