Senior Systems Engineer (Aerospace UAS)

Location: On-site in Seattle, Washington; San Diego, California; Washington, DC; or Dallas, Texas, United States

Salary: $144,000–$210,000 per year, plus bonus, benefits, and equity for regular full-time employees.

Company

hirify.global is a venture-backed defense-tech company developing intelligent systems, including autonomy software, unmanned aircraft, and simulation technologies.

What you will do

• Develop and refine system architectures for next-generation unmanned aircraft, integrating avionics, autonomy, propulsion, sensor payloads, and mission systems.
• Define system-level behavior, including modes, states, transitions, and fault responses, and support FHA, FMEA, and FTA safety analyses.
• Establish system requirements, decompose them into subsystem requirements, and maintain traceability throughout development.
• Use MBSE tools and methods, including SysML, DOORS, or similar platforms, to create digital models and conduct trade studies.
• Integrate AI-driven flight control, decision-making, and mission execution capabilities with autonomy and software teams.
• Coordinate with hardware, software, autonomy, propulsion, flight operations, manufacturing, DoD stakeholders, and industry partners through integration, testing, and deployment.

Requirements

• 5+ years of systems engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or autonomous aircraft systems.
• Experience with system architecture, avionics integration, autonomy-driven flight systems, system behavior logic, and operational modes.
• Proficiency with MBSE, DOORS, SysML, CAMEO, or similar modeling tools.
• Experience with Group 4 or Group 5 UAS, military aircraft, autonomous airborne platforms, flight testing, and performance validation.
• Knowledge of DoD acquisition processes, MIL-STDs, FAA airworthiness certification, and airborne system safety standards.
• Ability to obtain an S//SAR-level security clearance is desired; active Secret or Top Secret clearance is preferred.

Nice to have

• Experience developing AI-driven autonomy for unmanned aircraft.
• Expertise in ISR, EW, advanced airborne sensors, MOSA, or Government Reference Architectures.
• Experience with defense primes, DoD stakeholders, or government R&D programs.
• Experience taking a developmental program from a clean sheet to first flight.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time regular employment with pay within the listed range, bonus, benefits, and equity.
• Work in a fast-paced, agile development environment with shifting priorities.
• Contribute to mission-ready autonomous aircraft systems for national defense.
• Offers are contingent on a cleared background and may include a reference check.