System Engineer

Systems Engineer – UAS Airworthiness Certification - Lost-link

Position Summary:

The organization seeks a Systems Engineer with airworthiness certification experience to lead development, execution, and documentation of lost-link (command and control link loss) test plans in support of UAS airworthiness certification. This role owns the technical and procedural bridge between engineering design, safety analysis, flight test execution, and the certifying authority — ensuring lost-link behavior is fully characterized, tested, and defensible as certification evidence.

This is a lead/integrating role: the successful candidate will coordinate closely with RF/communications, flight test, software/autonomy, and system safety engineers, but will personally own the structure, traceability, and regulatory adequacy of the test plan itself.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop a comprehensive lost-link test plan covering command and control (C2) link loss

scenarios, including link degradation, complete link loss, and link recovery/re-acquisition

conditions.

• Define test conditions required to validate lost-link behavior across the operational envelope.

• Translate certification basis requirements (e.g., FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate / COA

criteria, MIL-HDBK-516 data requirements, or equivalent civil/military standards) into specific,

testable requirements and pass/fail criteria.

• Coordinate with system safety engineering to ensure test points are traceable to hazard analysis

(FMEA/FHA) findings for lost-link failure modes.

• Work with software/autonomy engineering to validate automated lost-link behaviors (e.g., hover,

return-to-home, pre-planned orbit points, autonomous landing, flight termination).

• Partner with RF/communications engineering to incorporate link budget analysis and signal

degradation modeling into realistic test scenarios.

• Support flight test engineering in translating the test plan into executable test cards, and

participate in test point execution, data review, and anomaly resolution.

• Prepare test plan documentation, evidence packages, and reports suitable for submission to and

approval by the certifying authority.

• Represent the test plan and results during witnessed test events and certification authority

reviews.

• Maintain requirements traceability from certification basis through hazard analysis, test plan,

execution, and evidence close-out.

Required Qualifications:

• US Citizen

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or

related field (advanced degree preferred for senior-level candidates).

• Demonstrated experience with UAS or manned aircraft airworthiness certification processes.

• Working knowledge of applicable certification frameworks (e.g., FAA Part 21/91, COA processes,

MIL-HDBK-516, EASA SC-VTOL/UAS regulations, or equivalent).

• Experience developing or contributing to flight test plans, including test point definition and

success/failure criteria.

• Understanding of command and control (C2) link architecture and failure modes.

• Familiarity with system safety analysis methods (FMEA, FHA, or equivalent) as applied to flight-

critical systems.

• Strong technical writing skills; ability to produce certification-grade documentation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience authoring or executing lost-link test plans for a certified or certification-track

UAS program.

• Experience interfacing directly with a certifying authority (FAA, EASA, DoD airworthiness

authority, or equivalent) through review and approval cycles.

• Background in RF/communications engineering or systems integration involving datalinks.

• Experience with requirements management and traceability tools.

• Prior role as a flight test engineer, airworthiness engineer, or designated engineering

representative (or equivalent).

Salary $160K - $210K