AD&D System Safety Engineer Staff

About the role

The AD&D System Safety Engineer defines and leads system safety strategy for early-phase aircraft and system concepts and is responsible for ensuring the safety and reliability of designs being developed by the Advanced Design & Development team. This role will focus on the initial phases of aircraft development—ideation, hypothesis generation, stakeholder engagement, technology maturation, and conceptual design.

Responsibilities

• Define AD&D safety engineering strategy, processes, and methods aligned with core Product Development's System Safety and Systems Engineering practices.
• Conduct system safety analyses to support early development design decisions such as system architectures, availability, integrity, monitoring, and other safety requirements.
• Conduct and document Functional Decompositions.
• Conduct and document aircraft and system level safety analyses – specifically Aircraft Functional Hazard Assessments, Preliminary Aircraft Safety Assessments, System Functional Hazard Assessments, Preliminary System Safety Assessments, Particular Risk Assessments, Common Cause Assessments, and Particular Risk Assessments.
• Develop and review system schematics.
• Develop and validate reliability, maintenance, and safety requirements.
• Participate in trade studies and design reviews.
• Perform reliability and safety trade studies for alternative architectures and design concepts.
• Establish and maintain safety cases, including explicit documentation of assumptions, open issues, and certification risks for transition into development programs.
• Mentor and coach AD&D and Systems Engineers in safety driven design practices, including early phase use of ARP4754B/4761A and runtime assurance.
• Perform reliability analysis of electrical and/or mechanical assemblies using RIAC NPRD-2011, NSWC-11, RIAC Reliability Toolkit, and/or equivalent.
• Perform reliability analysis of electrical assemblies using MIL-HDBK-217-F2, RIAC NPRD-2011, RIAC Reliability Toolkit, and/or equivalent.
• Perform Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) of electrical and/or mechanical assemblies per MIL-STD-1629A, SAE ARP4761, RIAC FMD-2013, RIAC Reliability Toolkit, and/or equivalent.
• Support safety of flight determination for first of type flights or first flights of significantly modified aircraft.
• Identify Failure Modes and Effects Test (FMET) cases and support simulation and flight FMET Review vendors' reliability analysis and FMEA submittals for completeness and accuracy.
• Perform Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and common cause analyses (CCAs) of electrical and/or mechanical systems per SAE ARP4761.
• Development of tasks and procedures for flight crew and periodic maintenance requirements necessary for ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements.
• Carefully coordinate closely with and support the work of system and software architects, systems development assurance, systems engineering, electrical and mechanical systems design, flight deck designers, human factors engineers, and flight test.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or relevant technical discipline.
• Master's degree preferred.
• 8+ years of experience with Systems Safety Analyses – specifically AFHA, PASA, SFHA, PSSA, CCA, and FMEAs.
• Must have a strong understanding of ARP 4761 and ARP 4754A.
• Must be able to conduct quick assessments and provide feedback on designs or architectures with only verbal direction or minimal documentation (whiteboard sketches, preliminary schematics, etc.).
• Must be able to work effectively in early product development phases, before full requirements or system descriptions are documented.
• Must be able to work with highly iterative or frequently changing designs.
• Must be able to demonstrate the ability to read, write and speak the English language.
• Ability to communicate technical knowledge in a clear and understandable manner.
• Intrinsic motivation to drive progress - to explore, challenge, and innovate – and to minimize administrative overhead.
• Innovation minded and willing to try new and different methods or approaches.
• Comfortable operating under tight deadlines with minimal direction and in a shop or lab environment.
• Proficient in reading and creating engineering design definition - 3D models, 2D drawings, sketches, schematics, BOMs.
• Able to work both independently and across a variety of functional disciplines.
• Able to efficiently learn new skills and manage multiple tasks.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Visio).
• Demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous aircraft development program experience, from early concepts to entry into service.
• Private pilot certificate or personal aviation experience.
• Familiarity with ARP 4761A and ARP 4754A.
• Familiarity with advanced software functions (AI, ML, etc.) and Run Time Assurance methods.
• Working understanding of the FAA's Safety Continuum concepts.
• Knowledgeable of or experienced with STPA (Systems Theoretic Process Analysis).
• Broad technical skillset related to aircraft, with strong understanding of systems engineering and system safety.
• Previous experience with Model Based Systems Engineering.
• Previous experience with CAFTA.
• Previous experience with JAMA.
• Familiarity with PTC products (e.g. CREO, Windchill).
• Familiarity with Mathworks products (e.g. Matlab, Simulink).
• Familiarity with Atlassian products (e.g. Jira, Confluence).
• Proficiency in at least one coding language.
• Experience with FAA certification processes and standards (e.g. Part 23, Part 27, Advisory Circulars, Industry Consensus Standards).
• Familiarity with foreign validation activities for EASA, TCCA, ANAC.
• Experience in cross-disciplinary system integration and trade studies.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate, negotiate, and collaborate effectively across all levels of an organization, from the shop floor to the C-suite.

Bonus Points

• Previous experience with RC aircraft building.
• Previous experience with flying or plane spotting.