Advanced Design System Development Assurance Engineer Staff

Cirrus Aircraft; Duluth (MN); On-site; USD 120,220 - 180,330; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Coverage

Employer-Paid Coverages

401(k) Plan

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Career Development

Job summary

Cirrus Aircraft seeks an experienced System Development Assurance Engineer to lead assurance activities across aircraft and systems during early development. You will collaborate with aero, airframe, software, safety, and certification teams to create usable assurance artifacts for design and certification.

Responsibilities include defining strategies, managing requirements, coordinating with flight test, and guiding cross‑functional teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Electrical, or Systems Engineering or relevant technical discipline.
• 8+ years of experience with System Development Assurance activities.
• Strong understanding of ARP 4754A/4754B and related standards.
• Ability to work in early design phases with minimal documentation and verbal direction.
• Experience across iterative designs and cross-disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Define system development assurance strategies and align with Systems Engineering.
• Develop and execute requirements management and verification plans.
• Coordinate with systems engineering, safety, integration, and flight test teams.
• Lead certification planning and coordination with authorities.
• Mentor engineers and support design descriptions and trade studies.
• Travel up to 25% as required.

Skills

Communication skills

Verbal & written

Cross-disciplinary work

Problem solving

Agile mindset

Learn quickly

Coding language

Education

Bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering

Master's degree (related)

Tools

Jira

Confluence

CREO

Windchill

MATLAB/Simulink

ATlassian tools

Job description

Overview

The AD&D System Development Assurance Engineer is responsible for planning and conducting aircraft and systems level development assurance activities for Advanced Design & Development projects. This role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams, including aero, airframe, systems, safety, software, and certification engineers as well as flight test, flight operations, and IT. This role will focus on the initial phases of aircraft development—ideation, hypothesis generation, stakeholder engagement, technology maturation, and conceptual design. This role will work with small, agile teams to explore new user value propositions, challenge the status quo, and evolve ideas into developed conceptual designs with usable development assurance artifacts ready for detailed design and certification.

Responsibilities

• Define AD&D system development assurance strategies, processes, methods, and tools and align those with core Product Development's Systems Engineering practices.
• Develop, own, and execute system development plans, and supporting policies and practices.
• Develop, own, and execute upon requirements management plans and toolsets and validation and verification planning, including the creation and continuous improvement of checklists, guides, and best practices.
• Coordinate closely with systems engineering, system safety, integration test, and flight test teams.
• Support requirements capture and validation activities.
• Own the certification planning and coordination activities related to system development assurance, internal to Cirrus and with Civil Aviation Authorities.
• Support internal and external System Reviews.
• Conduct and document functional decompositions and allocation to systems work across AD&D.
• Guide, mentor, and train other engineers on system development assurance activities.
• Support the creation and maintenance of system design descriptions.
• Participate in trade studies and design reviews.
• Support safety of flight determination for prototype aircraft.
• Coordinate closely with and support the work of system and software architects, system safety, systems engineering, system integration and verification, electrical and mechanical systems design, flight deck designers, human factors engineers, and flight test.
• Travel up to 25% may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Electrical, or Systems Engineering, or relevant technical discipline.
• 8+ years of experience with System Development Assurance activities.
• Must have a strong understanding of ARP 4754A and/or ARP 4754B.
• Must be able to conduct quick assessments and provide feedback on designs or architectures with only verbal direction or minimal documentation (whiteboard sketches, preliminary schematics, etc.).
• Must be able to work effectively in early product development phases, before full requirements or system descriptions are documented.
• Must be able to work with highly iterative or frequently changing designs.
• Must be able to demonstrate the ability to read, write and speak the English language.
• Ability to communicate technical knowledge in a clear and understandable manner.
• Intrinsic motivation to drive progress— to explore, challenge, and innovate— and to minimize administrative overhead.
• Must be innovation minded and willing to try new and different methods or approaches.
• Must be comfortable operating under tight deadlines with minimal direction and in a shop or lab environment.
• Must be proficient in reading and creating engineering design definition—3D models, 2D drawings, sketches, schematics, BOMs.
• Ability to work both independently and across a variety of functional disciplines including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and software engineering.
• Ability to efficiently learn new skills and manage multiple tasks.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Visio).
• Must demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Previous aircraft development program experience, from early concepts to entry into service.
• Private pilot certificate or personal aviation experience.
• Familiarity with ARP 4754B, ARP 4761, and ASTM Standards F3061/F3230.
• Familiarity with advanced software functions (AI, ML, etc.) and Run Time Assurance methods.
• Working understanding of the FAA's Safety Continuum concepts.
• Knowledgeable of or experienced with STPA (Systems Theoretic Process Analysis).
• Broad technical skillset related to aircraft, with strong understanding of systems engineering and system safety.
• Master's degree in related discipline.
• Previous experience with Model Based Systems Engineering.
• Previous experience with JAMA.
• Familiarity with PTC products (e.g. CREO, Windchill).
• Familiarity with Mathworks products (e.g. Matlab, Simulink).
• Familiarity with Atlassian products (e.g. Jira, Confluence).
• Proficient in at least one coding language.
• Experience with FAA certification processes and standards (e.g. Part 23, Part 27, Advisory Circulars, Industry Consensus Standards).
• Direct participation in authority oversight/involvement in development audits.
• Experience in cross-disciplinary system integration and trade studies.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate, negotiate, and collaborate effectively across all levels of an organization, from the shop floor to the C-suite.

Our Benefits: Cirrus provides a range of exciting benefits, including:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, vision, dental, with additional dependent coverage options.
• Employer-Paid Coverages: Group term life, short- and long-term disability insurance.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: FSA and HSA offerings with company contributions to HSA.
• Well-being: Calm Health, Employee Assistance Program, and wellness incentives through medical provider.
• 401(k) Plan: Dollar-for-dollar match up to 5% after 90 days, with 100% vesting at 1 year of service.
• PTO: Various PTO plans starting at 100 hours accrued within the first year.
• Additional Time off Benefits: Paid holidays, 2 weeks of Paid Parental leave, paid time for funeral leave and jury duty.
• Career Development: Tuition reimbursement program and professional growth opportunities.
• Exclusive Discounts: Cirrus Store, partner and marketplace discounts available.
• Community & Engagement: Company and employee clubs at various locations.

Pay Range

Salary Range: USD $120,220.38/Yr. - USD $180,330.56/Yr.

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