Lead Systems Engineer - PAiREGRINE Jet UAV (ISR/Autonomy)

Lead Systems Engineer - PAiREGRINE Jet UAV (ISR/Autonomy)

Location: Croatia or UAE (on‑site)
Employment Type: Full‑time
Compensation: Competitive (salary + benefits)

What Propels Us:

PAiREGRINE is a high‑speed autonomous Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) jet UAV built for rapid reconnaissance, sensor fusion, and decision advantage in contested environments. The platform blends multi‑sensor payloads, onboard AI, secure comms, and jet propulsion into a coherent, combat‑credible system. Your mission: own the whole aircraft and stop subsystem drift—so propulsion, avionics, sensors, AI, comms, and airframe behave as one machine.

The Impact You’ll Make

You will own requirements, interfaces, trade‑offs, and final technical decisions across the stack—from airframe and propulsion to avionics, payloads, AI, datalinks, and production readiness. You’ll run design reviews, freeze decisions, and keep verification tight so the aircraft stays coherent as one system from concept through flight test.

What will you actually do?

• Own the system architecture & requirements baseline; drive decomposition, allocation, and traceability across subsystems and suppliers. (V‑model best practice for aircraft systems engineering)
• Control interfaces and ICDs between propulsion, avionics, sensors, power, comms, and structure; enforce versioning, timing/behavior definitions, and change control.
• Lead design reviews (SRR/PDR/CDR/TRR/QR), run trades, and freeze decisions that protect performance, safety, and schedule.
• Maintain the Verification & Validation plan and test matrix; align ground, HIL/SIL, and flight test with certification evidence.
• Apply ARP4754A development assurance and ARP4761 safety assessment (FHA, PSSA/SSA, FTA/FMEA) to guide DAL‑driven rigor.
• Shepherd avionics software/hardware through DO‑178C / DO‑254 and environmental quals (DO‑160, MIL‑STD‑810/461) where applicable.
• Drive MBSE (SysML/Cameo) for model‑based requirements, behaviors, and interfaces; keep DOORS/Jama/Polarion traceability as the single source of truth.
• Integrate ISR payloads and secure datalinks (EO/IR, RF/SIGINT, SAR, comms relay) with edge processing for contested environments; design for EM resilience and low signature.
• Coordinate integration across propulsion, flight controls, GNC, and mission systems, ensuring we hit performance, reliability, and maintainability targets from first article to production. (End‑to‑end aerospace systems integration practice)
• Keep the aircraft coherent as one system—own the cross‑functional plan from architecture through flight readiness and operational test. (Systems Engineering lifecycle)

What You’ve Done

• 10+ years in UAV/missile/aircraft systems with deep integration experience from concept to flight test.
• Requirements leadership (decomposition, allocation, traceability) and ICD mastery across avionics/propulsion/payload/power.
• V‑model execution with hands‑on V&V planning, test automation, and evidence generation.
• Safety + certification fluency: ARP4754A/ARP4761; DO‑178C/DO‑254; DO‑160 and MIL‑STD‑810/461 environmental qual.
• MBSE + tooling: SysML/Cameo (or equivalent), DOORS/Jama/Polarion; you’ve built living models, not shelfware.
• ISR systems integration—multi‑sensor fusion and secure datalinks for contested airspace missions.
• Design reviews & governance: you’ve led SRR/PDR/CDR/TRR and frozen decisions at the right fidelity/time.

Bonus Points

• Model‑generated ICDs / digital thread from MBSE to documentation.
• Experience with airworthiness, cybersecurity (DO‑326A/DO‑356), and mission assurance on defense programs.
• Prior leadership on high‑speed UAVs or missile‑class integration with tight thermal, power, and EMI/EMC budgets.

Why Join Us

• You’ll be supported and rewarded with competitive compensation while contributing to a mission‑driven program making an impact on a global stage.
• You’ll take real ownership of the foundational architecture behind a jet‑class autonomous ISR platform—and see your decisions fly.
• You’ll shape and grow the digital engineering backbone, guiding everything from system models and interfaces to verification, validation, and flight test.
• You’ll collaborate closely with a small, fast‑moving team that builds and ships real aircraft—hands‑on, focused, and execution‑driven.

Job Type: Full-time

Application Question(s):

• Have you personally owned the system architecture and requirements baseline for a UAV, aircraft, or missile program from early concept through integration or flight test?
• Have you led system‑level design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, or equivalent) and had authority to freeze interfaces or make final technical trade‑offs?
• Do you have hands‑on experience managing subsystem interfaces and ICDs across propulsion, avionics, payloads, power, and structure?
• Have you planned or owned Verification & Validation activities (including ground test, HIL/SIL, or flight test) for safety‑ or mission‑critical aerospace systems?

Work Location: In person