Systems Engineer - Mission Definition

We're building safety-enhancing technology for aviation that will save lives. Automated aviation systems will enable a future where air transportation is safer, more convenient and fundamentally transformative to the way goods — and eventually people — move around the planet. We are a team of mission-driven engineers with experience across aerospace, robotics and self-driving cars working to make this future a reality.

As a Mission Systems Engineer at the company, you will be a part of the Systems team and will report to the Systems & Safety Manager. The Systems & Safety Team is responsible for architecting systems that support novel safety-critical functions, establishing development methodologies for new technologies, and complying with the federal regulations.

As part of an experienced multi-disciplinary team, you will contribute to expanding the aircraft's mission and functional capabilities. Your first-hand pilot experience and your engineering experience in design and development will further strengthen the team's ability to meet rigorous expectations of stakeholders and certification authorities. You will collaborate with members from other groups within the company to develop new and novel systems necessary for unmanned aircraft operations.

Responsibilities

• In your role as a Mission Systems Engineer you will contribute to the development of prototypes and certifiable safety-critical flight systems in a dynamic start-up work environment

• Define and document mission-related aspects of future aircraft operation using insight from a pilot’s perspective

• Define and communicate strategies and plans for type certification and operational approval

• Develop training and support documents needed to deploy autonomous systems in an operational environment

• Support system architecture development and assess trade-off studies regarding performance, complexity, risk, and effort

• Capture system requirements and interfaces to drive avionics hardware and software development

• Perform operational safety assessments in support of experimental and production missions

• Provide engineering expertise in the design, development, test and validation of vehicle level functions and performances

• You’ll also have the opportunity to interact with other domains within the company and become involved in a broad task spectrum not limited to typical system engineering activities

Basic Success Criteria

• Bachelor’s Degree of Science or Engineering in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, or related discipline

• FAA-Certificated Pilot (Commercial, or Airline Transport) or Dispatcher with two or more years of operational experience under 14 CFR § 135, 14 CFR § 121 or Corporate Flight Operations, or equivalent military experience

• Broad experience from 7+ years of designing various systems, integrations, and testing of complex safety-critical aerospace systems or equivalent technology

Preferred Criteria

• Advanced Degree of Science or Engineering in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, or related discipline

• Creative problem solver that can bring multiple disciplines together with the ability to assess risk and make design and development decisions based first principles without all available data

• Experience certifying flight critical systems, hardware, and software via ARP4754A, ARP4761, DO-254, and DO-178C respectively

This role is critical to us at the company, because it works to convert the real world challenges of piloting an aircraft into requirements for an aircraft system that flies itself.

This role can be remote, or located at our facility in Mountain View, California.

Must be willing to travel up to 10% of the time.

This position requires access to information that is subject to U.S. export controls. An offer of employment will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to perform in compliance with U.S. export control laws.

All applicants are asked to provide documentation that legally establishes status as a U.S. person or non-U.S. person (and nationalities in the case of a non-U.S. person). Where the applicant is not a U.S. person, meaning not a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident, (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or not otherwise permitted to access the export-controlled technology without U.S. government authorization, the Company reserves the right not to apply for an export license for such applicants whose access to export-controlled technology or software source code requires authorization and may decline to proceed with the application process and any offer of employment on that basis.

At the company, our goal is to be a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, creed, ancestry, sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability or medical conditions, national origin, military or veteran status, genetic information, marital status, or any other basis covered by applicable law. All employment and promotion is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to [link for members]