Staff Engineer

Job Summary

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a world leader in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and advanced sensor systems. We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Project Engineer in our Agile Mission Systems Special Programs group in Poway, CA. Under general direction, this position is responsible for both project and systems engineering leadership with a focus on system design and payload integration, primarily on the MQ‑9A Block 1 platform in support of the SkyRange program.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assess technical scope and develop plans, estimates, and schedules, and execute programs in accordance with those plans, balancing technical, cost, and schedule objectives.
• Provide systems engineering and technical management for the development, fabrication, testing, integration, and maintenance of new or existing systems on GAASI UAS.
• Determine the technical objectives and solutions for advanced technical engineering problems.
• Perform system analysis, generate requirements, and develop system architectures and designs.
• Direct the activities of design or technical staff and lead a team of moderately experienced professional staff.
• Provide guidance on conflicting design and development requirements, challenging coordination requirements, and special material requirements.
• Capture and manage the integration, verification, and validation of systems through lab, ground, and flight test.
• Develop and present technical material for internal and external reviews; present reports at engineering meetings; participate in program reviews; and consult on complex technical problems.
• Represent the organization as the prime technical contact to customers and/or government regulatory agencies.
• Perform hands on troubleshooting and support sustainment activities in laboratory and flight test environments.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience as follows: six or more years of experience with a bachelor’s degree, four or more years of experience with a master’s degree, or two or more years with a PhD.
• May substitute equivalent engineering experience in lieu of education.
• Demonstrates technical expertise through the application of engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice, with the ability to organize, plan, schedule, conduct, and coordinate workloads to meet established deadlines or milestones.
• Must possess the ability to understand new concepts quickly in a fast-paced, evolving environment; apply them accurately; and determine the appropriate approach at the task level or, with assistance, at the project level to provide solutions to a range of complex problems.
• Must have strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills to effectively interface with other departments, customers, government representatives, and other professionals.
• Must be customer-focused and able to work on a self-initiated basis or in a team environment.
• Must have the ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and standards.
• Must have the ability to direct system-level design through interconnect diagrams and interface control documentation.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance required.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with MQ‑9 or other UAS platforms, including development, payload integration, and/or flight test.
• Background in systems engineering for airborne or defense systems, including requirements management, interface control, and verification/validation.
• Experience planning and managing project cost, schedule, and risk in a dynamic engineering environment.
• Familiarity with aircraft systems integration standards (e.g. Ethernet-based systems, RF payloads, sensors).
• Experience with software, datalinks, and computer networking.
• Experience coordinating with government customers and supporting technical interchange meetings, design reviews, and flight-test readiness reviews.