Avionics Systems Architect, UAS Programs

About Us

We’re a combat-tested group of engineers, operators, and entrepreneurs who believe America’s edge depends on autonomous airpower that’s trusted and deployable today not in 2040. Backed by tier-one investors, we’ve secured the runway - financial, regulatory, and literal - to move at startup speed while tackling a national-security mission that matters. We’ve structured the company for radical ownership: no silos, no “systems integrator” overhead, just tightly knit mission-focused IPTs that live and breathe the hardware and code they ship.

If you thrive where hard-tech ambition meets national-security urgency, you’ll build faster here than anywhere else. Let’s get after it.

• Strong Core Values, Startup Execution. Integrity, Service Before Self, Excellence, Honor, Courage, Commitment—powered by a bias for action and a “figure it out” mindset.
• Self-Starters Only. You’ll have clear objectives, a blank sheet of paper, and the trust (plus capital) to move fast. Bureaucracy stays out of your way.
• One Team, No Tourists. Whether you’re tuning a control law at 2 a.m. or heat-treating a Ti-6
  
  Al-4V spar, everyone sweats the details. We celebrate wins together and own failures together.

• Mission With a Pulse. Every line of code, bracket, or test you deliver expands the toolbox of the warfighter on Day 1 of a conflict.
• Resources Without Red Tape. VC speed + DoD customer pull: access to test ranges, flight hours, and operator feedback while retaining startup agility.
• Career-Defining Upside. Significant equity, best-in-class benefits, and the chance to see your product deliver in months, not decades.

We’re looking for an Avionics Architecture Lead Engineer to own the end-to-end avionics system design for our autonomous aircraft. You will define the architecture, manage key avionics subcontractors, and ensure the system meets FAA certification requirements.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role for a self-starter who can zoom from high-level architecture down into ICD details, test plans, and flight-test findings.

• Own the avionics architecture.
  • Define the end-to-end avionics system, including mission computers, navigation, communications, surveillance, and payload interfaces.
  • Select network topologies (ARINC 664/AFDX, TSN Ethernet, ARINC 429, CAN, etc.) and define redundancy, partitioning, and data flows.
  • Lead supplier & subcontractor integration.
• Serve as primary technical point of contact for avionics vendors and integrators.
  • Drive SOWs, technical requirements, ICDs, and acceptance criteria.
  • Review vendor designs, safety artifacts, and test results; hold them accountable to cost/schedule/technical performance.
• Ensure FAA airworthiness compliance.
  • Architect the system in accordance with ARP 4754A/4761, DO-178C, DO-254, DO-160, and applicable Part 23/25 guidance.
  • Support System Safety in the development and maintenance of system-level requirements, safety analyses (FHA, PSSA, SSA), and certification plans.
• Develop system-level test plans, HIL/LRU integration plans, and test objectives.
• Work with test and flight teams to triage anomalies, root-cause issues, and feed fixes back into the architecture.
• Collaborate across the stack.
  • Partner with Autonomy, GNC, Flight Controls, and Cyber teams to ensure avionics supports robust, resilient autonomous operations.
  • Communicate clearly with leadership on risk, mitigations, and tradeoffs.

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in avionics systems design and integration on certificated aircraft.
• Proven experience with FAA certification efforts, including hands-on work with some combination of:
  • ARP 4754A / ARP 4761
  • DO-178C (software)
  • DO-254 (hardware)
  • DO-160 environmental testing
  • Part 23 or Part 25 certification projects
• Strong systems engineering fundamentals: requirements development, ICDs, safety analysis, verification planning.
• Demonstrated experience integrating avionics LRUs, networks, and sensors in a lab or flight-test environment.
• Track record of leading and managing subcontractors or vendors—able to push back…