Flight Control & Dynamics Engineer

Flight Control & Dynamics Engineer

Harmattan AI

Paris, France

RESPONSIBILITIES

• System Identification: Design excitation maneuvers and fit airframe models from flight data, with quantified error bounds.
• Control Law Design & Tuning: Inner rate and attitude loops through outer position loops, with allocation, gain scheduling, and manual or automated tuning across the airframe family and flight envelope.
• Sim-to-Real: Keep the in-house simulator faithful to the identified model, so control developed in simulation transfers to the aircraft.
• Model Consumption: Turn the stability derivatives and coefficient tables from Aerodynamics into flying control.
• Flight Test & Diagnosis: Verify across simulation, SITL, and HITL, including Monte Carlo campaigns, then fly and iterate from logs.
• Mentorship: Depending on seniority, support the team by mentoring junior control and GNC engineers.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

• Educational Background: A strong academic record with a degree in aerospace, controls, robotics, or a related STEM field. A practical track record matters more than the specific degree.
• System Identification & Control: Proven, hands-on identification and control on multirotor or fixed-wing platforms, validated in flight, with depth in at least one of MPC, INDI, or geometric control.
• Embedded Realization: Real-time control implementation on constrained targets, split cleanly between a microcontroller and a companion computer.
• Learning-Based Control: Familiarity with reinforcement learning and simulation-based training, and the judgment to know when a learned policy beats a classical design.
• Professional Attributes:
  • Empirical and hardware-honest, disciplined about experiments and validation, grounded in real flight data.
  • Communicates clearly, able to present control and test results to engineers and senior stakeholders.
  • Thrives under pressure in a fast-paced environment with a no-task-is-too-small mentality.
• Bonus: Multi-airframe or hover-to-cruise transition experience.
• Commitment: 100% dedication to Harmattan AI's mission of providing a defensive edge to allied nations through ethical, high-impact technology.