System Engineer, Sr. Staff

AeroVironment•Simi Valley, CA

1d•$170,000 - $249,900•Onsite

About The Position

The Sr. Staff Systems Engineer is responsible for leading system integration, verification, validation, and technical execution activities across unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) programs. This role serves as the technical integrator across software, hardware, autonomy, payload, communication, navigation, and ground control systems to ensure successful delivery of operational capabilities. The position is responsible for driving programs from requirements definition through system integration, flight test, verification, validation, and customer acceptance. The ideal candidate possesses strong systems engineering fundamentals combined with demonstrated experience leading complex integration and test efforts in aerospace, defense, or mission-critical systems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Systems, Electrical, Computer, Aerospace, Mechanical, or related field) or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
8 years of progressive systems engineering experience, with at least 5 years of leadership or management experience
Experience leading systems engineering activities across the product lifecycle, including requirements management, decomposition, traceability, integration, and V&V
Experience owning or leading Integration & Test execution for complex aerospace, defense, embedded, or mission-critical systems
Strong customer-facing skills, including the ability to lead technical discussions, present clearly to customers and leadership, and resolve issues across organizational boundaries
U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) or asylee/refugee status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) required.
Must be able to travel within the Continental U.S. and internationally when required.
Must be willing to work on government contracts and have the ability to obtain a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field
Experience leading complex system integration and test efforts for aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, or mission-critical products.
Experience transitioning systems from development through integration, verification, validation, production, and customer acceptance.
Experience supporting SIL, HIL, ground test, and flight test activities.
Experience with technical baseline management, software release processes, configuration control boards, and regression verification.
Experience troubleshooting multi-disciplinary system issues involving software, hardware, communications, networking, autonomy, navigation, and payload systems.
Aerospace, defense, or UAS systems engineering experience strongly preferred
Experience with Agile, SafeAgile or similar program execution frameworks, including technical status integration with cost and schedule performance
Experience supporting system safety and field test safety activities
Experience providing clear technical status, risk, and progress reporting to internal and external stakeholders
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including concise technical documentation and professional presentations
Experience supporting airworthiness, certification-related activities, or other regulated flight approval processes
Experience supporting reliability activities such as FRACAS, root cause investigation, corrective action tracking, or reliability growth efforts
Familiarity with mission systems, payload systems, imaging/sensing systems, or related aerospace subsystems

Responsibilities

Lead system integration activities across aircraft, payload, mission systems, communications, autonomy, navigation, and ground control systems.
Develop and execute system integration plans, integration readiness criteria, and technical maturation strategies.
Coordinate cross-functional engineering teams to resolve system-level issues, interface incompatibilities, and integration risks.
Drive technical execution to ensure capabilities mature from development through customer delivery and operational deployment.
Lead verification and validation activities across laboratory, SIL, HIL, ground, and flight test environments.
Develop test strategies, success criteria, and verification approaches supporting customer and regulatory requirements.
Support Test Readiness Reviews (TRR), Verification Readiness Reviews (VRR), Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR), and customer acceptance events.
Analyze test data, identify root causes, and drive corrective actions to closure.
Support flight test planning, execution, troubleshooting, and post-flight analysis.
Evaluate flight test results and provide recommendations for system improvements and risk reduction.
Coordinate with pilots, operators, software developers, and specialty engineering teams during flight test activities.
Support technical baseline management, software release planning, and configuration control activities.
Assess engineering changes for technical impact, regression risk, and verification requirements.
Ensure system-level regression testing is performed following significant hardware or software changes.
Lead cross-functional root cause investigations and corrective action implementation.
Identify, communicate, and mitigate technical risks affecting integration, verification, and program execution.
Drive technical issue closure using data-driven decision making and disciplined engineering processes.
Must have experience presenting at technical reviews such as SRR, PDR, CDR, and similar milestones.
Must be willing to travel.
Other duties as assigned