Guidance, Control and Navigation Specialist

At Dstl we protect lives. We take innovative Science and Technology (S&T) and use it to keep the country safe.

Dstl’s Weapons Systems Group is looking for a experienced individual to fill a Guidance, Control and Navigation (GCN) specialist role. You will join our multi-disciplinary team developing innovative, high-speed air vehicles. Culminating in a full scale flight test, our team of multi-disciplined scientists and engineers are conducting research and development activities into an innovative high speed air vehicle to provide the UK with a competitive edge against peer adversaries.

You’ll need strong technical and analytical skills and leadership ability to help us develop innovative solutions. Working closely with our military customers and industry partners there are many opportunities for travel, trials and for staff secondments to industry and other Ministry of Defence (MoD) organisations. We recognise the outstanding skills and aspirations of our people and are able to present them with an unparalleled range of opportunities to develop both the UK’s military capabilities as well as their own.

Dstl’s Weapons Systems Group helps MoD by assessing, understanding and demonstrating new technologies and how systems can be integrated across environments (domains). We strive to create common, modular and re-usable technologies and systems. Our work includes guidance, navigation, control, novel and laser effects, human integration, networking and hypersonics. We also link with other technology and information programmes.

Dstl recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution.

We particularly welcome female and ethnic minority applicants and those from the LGBTQI community, as they are under-represented within Dstl at these levels.

In this role you will be involved with some of the following:

• Technical planning for support and research requirements to fulfil to the current and future needs of the UK Defence. This will include participation on GCN-related technical expert panels.
• Writing statements of requirements for GCN-related extramural research contracts, participating in the technical aspects of placing contracts and upon contract award the technical partnering with the supplier.
• Providing advice and support to stakeholders in other parts of DSTL and wider MOD.
• Identifying and planning the internal GCN capability development needs within the team and the wider Weapon Systems Group.
• Planning the technical work of the GCN team within the project and coordinating the team and work packages.
• Concept development, autopilot design and synthesis, stability analysis, inertial measurement sensors, satellite navigation systems, techniques and systems for navigation in contested environments, and guidance loop design across the various flight phases of concept vehicle deployment from the beginning to the end of a mission, including terminal homing. This is likely to involve both using in-house tools and developing new ones, as well as working alongside technical experts in partner organisations.
• Progressing the development, testing and accreditation of a 6 degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) model, to evaluate the feasibility and performance of air vehicle concepts against given requirements. With the concepts evolving in terms of propulsion, aerodynamic and GCN design, the model is continually being developed and is a key tool across the project and beyond.
• Progressing the development and accreditation of GCN design and analysis tools, e.g. to synthesise designs, analyse stability, and assess performance. These are key tools needed to derive the inputs for the 6DOF model as well as feed into other areas of the wider project for concept evaluation.
• Assisting with the generation of GCN algorithms, subsystem models and specifications, trajectory and performance data for industry partners to develop a fully functioning technology demonstrator. Involvement in international research collaborations on GCN-related topics.
• Fostering and leading a strong safety culture that delivers innovation in science and technology enabling the supercharging of Dstl’s scientific and technological prowess.

A successful candidate will have:
•    Extensive background and experience in Missile Guidance and Control, and/or Navigation.
•    The ability to work well within a team environment and take on a leading and supervisory role; and to work on own initiative and without close supervision. 
•    The ability to teach and develop more junior staff toward Suitably Qualified and Experienced Person (SQEP) level.
•    The ability and self-motivation to devise, develop and analyse solutions for the control and guidance of complex and highly-coupled missiles, and/or for navigation in contested environments. The ability to think and work innovatively to overcome current and future problems facing defence.
•    Proven leadership skills.
•    Good communications skills (verbal, presentational and written).
•    The commitment to Continuous Professional Development to further own competencies for career advancement.

Essential Qualifications
A bachelor’s or master’s degree with a strong mathematical content e.g. Control Systems, Navigation Systems, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering. OR extensive experience in this field

Desirable Qualifications
PhD in a relevant mathematical, scientific or engineering field.

Essential Technical Skills
• You will have demonstrable proficiency in several of the following GCN and related disciplines: 
o    Autopilot design
o    Stability analysis
o    Guidance laws
o    State estimation / data fusion
o    Sensor / seeker systems
o    Satellite global positioning systems
o    Alternative navigation sensors and techniques
o    Integrated navigation systems
o    Control actuation systems
o    Optimisation techniques
•    You will have proficiency with modelling and simulation techniques 
•    You will have the ability to think and work innovatively and without supervision
•    You will have good communications skills (verbal, presentational and written)
•    You will have strong leadership skills

Essential Experience
•    Leadership.
•    Ability to work at different levels and working with stakeholders. 
•    Extensive background and experience on GCN disciplines in a project-based research and development environment.

Desirable Experience
•    Understanding and knowledge of guided weapon technologies
•    Mathematical modelling of dynamical systems
•    Modelling of the WGS84 curved rotating earth equations
•    Modelling of seekers and navigation sensors and fin actuation systems
•    Trajectory optimisation techniques
•    Model testing and accreditation
•    Configuration control
•    Matlab and Simulink

Memberships
Chartership and Membership of a relevant professional body, such as the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), or the Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE).

A successful candidate will:
• Form and influence a network of technical specialists to support and advise them on the delivery of fit for purpose engineering solutions
• Engage closely with UK PLC engineering and science capabilities to form a cadre of industry partners who can support Dstl in answering some of our most pressing questions
• Understand the emerging technology picture, realise the threats and opportunities that it represents, and provide impartial advice to the end user on effective exploitation
• Communicate the potential benefits and the impacts on capability of these options to our Military Customers

At Dstl, our vision is to have a modern way of working efficiently, accommodating and enabling our people to create, collaborate and deliver innovative science and technology with our partners, working in a way they need to wherever they need to. This role is largely office based, but will involve travel to customer sites (e.g. Air Command) and also sites belonging to technology suppliers. Some sites may be outside of the UK!

Important Information
Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Using the attached job profile, please explain how your skills and experience meet the requirement for the role.
• Please provide an example of a relevant technical challenge you have overcome and describe how you approached solving it.

Dstl’s full range of great benefits can be found in the information pack which includes:

• Financial: An excellent pension scheme starting from 26% employer contribution (find out more here). In Year Rewarding Achievement bonuses and thank you vouchers. Rental deposit scheme and cycle to work scheme.
• Flexible working: Full flexibility working options include alternative working patterns, compressed hours, job shares and annualised hours. Remote working may be available dependent on role.
• Flexible working hours: Ability to bank hours in a 12 month reference period including the ability to accrue and use 3 days per calendar month.
• Annual leave: 25 days pro rata (rising to 30 after 5 years) plus 8 public holidays with the ability to buy/sell 5 additional days per annum.
• Family: Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks with full pay, an additional 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid
• Learning and Development: Dstl encourages and supports charterships, accreditations and provides employees access to fully funded apprenticeships up to level 7 (Masters Degree). Dstl will pay for 2 memberships with relevant bodies/institutions. Employees also have access to Civil Service Learning.
• Facilities: Onsite parking, EV Charging points, restaurants, cafés and gyms.

The information pack can be found attached to the job specification on Civil Service Jobs. 

Our Diversity Networks

We have a number of support networks to ensure all employees feel supported at work. These include the following:

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Network
• Race, Faith and Culture Network
• Parents and Carer Support Network
• Alternative Working Network
• Gender Equality Network
• New Starters Network
• Enabled Network, for people with visible and non-visible disabilities.

This job is not open to candidates who hold a dual nationality.

Job contact :

• Name : Dstl HR Recruitment
• Email : Dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk