Staff Systems Engineer, Aviation

Flock Safety•Atlanta, GA

5d•$150,000 - $200,000•Onsite

About The Position

Flock Safety is the leading safety technology platform, helping communities thrive by taking a proactive approach to crime prevention and security. Our hardware and software suite connects cities, law enforcement, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods in a nationwide public-private safety network. Trusted by over 5,000 communities, 4,500 law enforcement agencies, and 1,000 businesses, Flock delivers real-time intelligence while prioritizing privacy and responsible innovation. We’re a high-performance, low-ego team driven by urgency, collaboration, and bold thinking. Working at Flock means tackling big challenges, moving fast, and continuously improving. It’s intense but deeply rewarding for those who want to make an impact. With nearly $700M in venture funding and a $7.5B valuation, we’re scaling intentionally and seeking top talent to help build the impossible. If you value teamwork, ownership, and solving tough problems, Flock could be the place for you. Flock is building the future of autonomous aerial systems, and this team sits at the center of making that happen. As a Systems Engineer, you’ll work on the full drone platform, bringing together payloads, propulsion, connectivity, flight control, and other critical subsystems into a system that performs reliably in the real world. This is a deeply hands-on role for someone who loves solving complex integration challenges and wants to work close to the hardware. You’ll partner across mechanical, electrical, embedded, and connectivity teams to validate how the entire aircraft comes together, troubleshoot issues across subsystem boundaries, and improve performance through testing and iteration. From integrating new payloads to tuning flight behavior and refining system performance, your work will directly shape how our drone platforms operate in the field. This is a great opportunity for someone who has broad UAS systems experience and enjoys seeing the whole picture not just one piece of the stack. We’re looking for an engineer who is energized by building, testing, and optimizing complex aerial systems, and who wants to help push a fast-moving team forward in one of the most interesting technical environments at Flock.

Requirements

Experience working with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drone platforms
Hands-on experience integrating and validating complex subsystems such as payloads, propulsion, connectivity, and flight control components
Strong background in system-level debugging across electrical, mechanical, and software interfaces
Experience with flight testing and real-world performance validation
Experience tuning PID controllers
Experience working with PX4 firmware or similar flight control software
Familiarity with flight controller filtering, position estimation, and optimization
Ability to understand how an entire drone platform fits together, not just an individual subsystem
Background in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, robotics, mechanical engineering, or a related field
Must be based in or willing to relocate to Atlanta, GA

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in the drone industry is strongly preferred
Candidates from adjacent robotics, aerospace, or autonomous systems backgrounds may also be considered if they bring relevant hands-on UAS or vehicle integration experience
Portfolio of hobby, side, or personal projects involving drones, robotics, or autonomous systems is a strong plus

Responsibilities

Validate how the entire aircraft comes together
Troubleshoot issues across subsystem boundaries
Improve performance through testing and iteration
Integrating new payloads
Tuning flight behavior
Refining system performance
Improve UAS system design and performance
Create and execute project plans
Identify new components to test and evaluate
Begin working on forward-looking projects to evaluate new technologies that could improve future UAS development

Benefits

Flexible PTO: We offer non-accrual PTO, plus 11 company holidays.
Fully-paid health benefits plan for employees: including Medical, Dental, and Vision and an HSA match.
Family Leave: All employees receive 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 6-8 weeks of physical recovery time.
Fertility & Family Benefits: We have partnered with Maven, a complete digital health benefit for starting and raising a family. Flock will provide a $50,000-lifetime maximum benefit related to eligible adoption, surrogacy, or fertility expenses.
Spring Health: Spring Health offers a variety of mental health benefits, including therapy, coaching, medication management, and digital tools, all tailored to each individual's needs.
Caregiver Support: We have partnered with Cariloop to provide our employees with caregiver support.
Carta Tax Advisor: Employees receive 1:1 sessions with Equity Tax Advisors who can address individual grants, model tax scenarios, and answer general questions.
ERGs: We want all employees to thrive and feel like they belong at Flock. We offer four ERGs today - Women of Flock, Flock Proud, LEOs and Melanin Motion. If you are interested in talking to a representative from one of these, please let your recruiter know.
WFH Stipend: $150 per month to cover the costs of working from home.
Productivity Stipend: $300 per year to use on Audible, Calm, Masterclass, Duolingo and so much more.
Home Office Stipend: A one-time $750 to help you create your dream office.