Autonomy Chief Engineer

Electra•Manassas, VA

5d•$175,000 - $215,000•Onsite

About The Position

Electra seeks a highly experienced Autonomy Chief Engineer to lead the design and integration of flight autonomy systems on future variants of Electra's flagship nine-passenger EL9 aircraft and other new products. This role will serve as a primary architect and system integrator, with emphasis on understanding the customer use cases to build conviction on the internal requirements before executing the program by maturing the design and partnerships through successful gate reviews.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience
US Persons required
Extensive experience (typically 12+ years) in flight autonomy or highly automated systems development
Proven ownership of complex autonomous system design and integration
Experience supporting or participating in government certification programs, including FAA and/or defense airworthiness processes
Strong background in formal development processes (e.g., ARP4754B)
Demonstrated technical leadership of engineering teams and supplier engagements, through direct management and/or senior technical direction
Experience conducting trade studies and preparing for design reviews
Excellent communication skills with the ability to deliver clear, actionable technical feedback

Nice To Haves

Pilot certificate preferred but not required.
Familiarity with development and test planning for ground and flight activities.
Demonstrated experience supporting or leading certification activities, including FAA or defense airworthiness.
Demonstrated mentorship of senior engineers and IPT leads.

Responsibilities

Partner with internal government and commercial programs leaders to deeply understand the real needs of the customers, not just their explicitly stated goals.
Synthesize these inputs to develop system requirements and concept of operation that define what Electra will develop to.
Assess state of suppliers for various elements of the autonomy architecture including system components, support infrastructure, and data. Lead supplier/partner engagement and selection efforts.
Support internal and external communication of Electra's autonomy strategy.
Define autonomy concept of operations, functional decomposition, and system architecture.
Develop integration strategies aligned with existing EL9 aircraft design.
Evaluate architectures and interfaces for completeness, performance, and integration risk.
Partner with the EL9 PMO to conduct trade studies for autonomous capability enhancements.
Lead the development of requirements for EL9 autonomy system, including both aircraft requirements and non-aircraft associated elements.
Develop operational plan for the system including training systems, operational specifications, minimum equipment lists, etc.
Collaborate with product development teams to ensure sound requirements flowdown and traceability.
Assess verification approaches to confirm practicality and alignment with program objectives.
Assemble development and test plan for autonomy systems.
Lead gate reviews as design matures.
In collaboration with the Certification Team, support the development of a initial certification strategy with the relevant airworthiness authorities, especially defense authorities.
Provide recommendations to program leadership.