Systems Engineer, Sr.

AeroVironment considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the location, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills. This position requires access to information subject to ITAR and/or EAR; applicants must qualify as a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee). Some roles may require current U.S. citizenship due to contract requirements.

About the role

The Sr. Systems Engineer works with our Design team to develop a variety of innovative Unmanned Systems for defense and commercial applications. This position will interact with Controls Engineers to allocate requirements and develop architectures to drive simulation models. These development efforts will generally be small focused design teams, requiring engineers to use a range of skills and tools across traditional engineering, computer science, and mathematical disciplines. The engineer will work on various stages of development, including requirements definition, concept design, prototyping, detailed design, validation, and verification testing.

Responsibilities

• Manage requirements traceability and evolution through the system development cycle
• Provide weekly status of system development progress with requirements burn down
• Allocate requirements to subsystem & engineering coordination
• Evaluate system performance thresholds and provide direction
• Work with Senior Staff Engineers in developing instrumented flight test vectors and data acquisition
• Provide input for model development and simulation analysis
• Review and interpret customer specifications effectively
• Identify, analyze, and resolve system design weaknesses
• Influence the shaping of future products by contributing to the framework (architecture) used across multiple products or systems
• Work on complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an evaluation of intangibles
• Exercise judgment in selecting methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results
• Determine methods and procedures on new assignments and may coordinate activities of other personnel (Team Lead)
• Develop systems test plans, procedures, and reports and review and interpret specifications
• Write Systems Safety protocols and ensure personnel safety during field testing
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, Computer Science/Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace, or Mechanical Engineering is required, or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• 8 - 12 years of experience in a systems engineering role (Aerospace systems engineering preferred)
• Proficiency with C/C++ and Matlab required
• Experience managing requirements traceability and evolution through the system development cycle
• Experience providing effective weekly status of system development progress with requirements burn down
• Experience allocating requirements to subsystem & engineering coordination
• Experience evaluating system performance thresholds and providing direction
• Experience developing instrumented flight test vectors and data acquisition
• Experience providing input for model development and simulation analysis
• Strong Matlab skills and proficiency with office software and computer-based productivity tools
• Familiarity with electronics and systems related to image collection and analysis

Qualifications

• Advanced degree is preferred
• Experience taking a product from concept to production with contract manufacturers is a plus
• Exposure to Guidance Navigation and Control Systems, Modeling Simulation & Control, and Model-Based Systems Engineering is helpful but not required
• Knowledge of Simulink, Ansys, and Solidworks preferred
• Interest in creating Architectures using Model-Based Engineering tools
• Able to excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, where small teams share a broad variety of duties
• Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives
• Takes ownership and responsibility for current and past work products
• Committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company
• Effective problem-solving, analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills
• Consistently demonstrates teamwork, collaboration, and puts the success of the team above one's own interests

Physical Demands

• Ability to work in an office and manufacturing environment (Constant)
• Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard (Frequent)

Pay

The salary range for this role is $111,500 - $170,000.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401K with company matching
• 9/80 work schedule
• Paid holiday shutdown