Senior Systems Engineer - Stratospace UAV Systems

Aalto; Farnborough; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term incentive plan

25 days holiday

Private medical insurance

Dental and optical cash back

Personal pension plan

Income protection

Life assurance

Salary sacrifice scheme

Employee assistance programme

Perkbox discounts

Job summary

AALTO, a global leader in Stratospace, seeks a Senior Systems Engineer in Farnborough to lead software design, development, and integration for the Zephyr HAPS. You will work on ground control and onboard software to enable seamless communication, control, and mission execution for long-endurance UAV operations.

Collaborate across teams to ensure safety, regulatory compliance, and robust performance, with a focus on ARINC 661 and real-time systems.

Qualifications

• Software systems engineering experience in aerospace or UAVs.
• Degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Hands-on with onboard software and ground control systems.
• Strong knowledge of TCP/UDP, datalinks, and real-time systems.
• Desirable ARINC 661 familiarity; OpenGL or similar for real-time interfaces.
• Familiarity with DO-178C, DO-254, ARP4754, ARP4761 standards.
• Experience with MBSE tools (e.g., JAMA, IBM DOORS) and MBSE methodologies.
• Understanding UAV operations and regulatory frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead integration of onboard and ground-based software systems.
• Design ground systems for UAV control, including datalink, Satcom, network routing, and telemetry processing.
• Define and integrate Flight Management System capabilities for long-endurance UAVs.
• Develop intuitive HMI for UAV operators with mission planning and telemetry visualization.
• Establish and maintain software architecture for mission-critical systems with modularity and fault tolerance.
• Gather, evaluate, and manage software requirements with traceability to system goals.
• Conduct software-focused design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR).
• Develop and execute verification/validation plans including HIL and system tests.
• Ensure compliance with aviation standards (ARP4754A, ARP4761, DO-178C).
• Identify and mitigate software risks including cybersecurity and data integrity.
• Coordinate between software and systems engineering for cohesive avionics integration.
• Maintain documentation of designs, tests, and procedures.

Skills

Software systems engineering

Onboard software

Ground control systems

Network protocols TCP/UDP

Real-time systems

Aviation standards DO-178C/ARP4754/ARΠ

MBSE tools (JAMA, IBM DOORS)

UAV operations knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Software Engineering or Computer Science

Tools

ARINC 661

OpenGL or similar graphics libraries

Job description

AALTO, a global leader in Stratospace, seeks a Senior Systems Engineer in Farnborough to lead software design, development, and integration for the Zephyr HAPS. You will work on ground control and onboard software to enable seamless communication, control, and mission execution for long-endurance UAV operations.

Collaborate across teams to ensure safety, regulatory compliance, and robust performance, with a focus on ARINC 661 and real-time systems.