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.
As our Navigation Engineer, 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
- Establish and own the navigation capability at Hypersonica, with a focus on robust, GNSS denied and degraded environment operation.
- Design and develop navigation algorithms using alternative instrumentation and sensor fusion to maintain accurate state estimation under extreme conditions.
- Explore and apply advanced estimation techniques, including ML aided approaches, where they materially improve robustness and performance.
- Build and own simulation and test frameworks to evaluate navigation performance across realistic disturbance, denial, and failure scenarios.
- Partner closely with guidance, control, avionics, and systems engineers to ensure navigation solutions are tightly integrated and flight ready.
- Lead Model in the Loop (MIL) and Software in the Loop (SIL) testing to validate navigation behaviour prior to integration and flight.
- Use ground test and flight data to refine models, close uncertainty, and drive rapid iteration.
Who you are
- A navigation or estimation engineer with 4+ years’ experience in aerospace, defence, or similarly demanding systems.
- Deeply comfortable working in GNSS-denied or degraded environments, and motivated by solving navigation where assumptions break.
- Strong grounding in state estimation and sensor fusion, with intuition for observability, uncertainty, and failure modes.
- Experienced applying or evaluating non-traditional navigation sources (e.g. optical, inertial, vision-based, or alternative sensors).
- Curious and pragmatic about ML-aided approaches, using them where they add real robustness rather than novelty.
- Someone who thinks in edge cases and adversarial conditions, not nominal performance.
- Comfortable taking end-to-end ownership of a technical capability, not just contributing algorithms.
- Energised by building something new, resilient, and flight-critical in a small team where navigation performance truly matters.
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.
At Hypersonica, every hire raises the bar. We are deliberately small, intensely capable, and deeply mission-driven. If this role feels like a strong fit, or if you believe you bring something exceptional that goes beyond the description, we encourage you to apply.
Hypersonica is an equal-opportunity employer and assesses candidates solely on merit, capability, and potential.
You can apply directly to this role or reach out to Nathan Sweeney, Head of Talent. We review every application and aim to respond to all candidates within two weeks, whether the answer is yes or no.
