Chief Systems Engineer & Technical Leader

avav; Petaluma (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 272,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401K with company matching

9/80 work schedule

Paid holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. in Petaluma, CA, seeks a Chief Engineer, Systems to provide technical leadership across mechanical, electrical, software and systems disciplines, ensuring architecture integrity, interface control, and successful program deliveries.

You will lead reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR), guide risk mitigation, mentor engineers, and interface with customers and subcontractors, while aligning with MIL-STDs, ISO 15288, and contract data requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in STEM required.
• Minimum 15 years in an engineering design or development environment.
• At least 3 years of project management experience (PMP/CAPM a plus).
• Experience with integrating new capabilities onto platforms.
• Experience planning schedules, budgets, and resource estimates.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain overall system architecture aligned with requirements.
• Lead technical decision‑making across mechanical, electrical, software, and systems disciplines.
• Lead SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR and risk review meetings.
• Mentor and develop engineering team members.
• Oversee requirements flow‑down and interface control.
• Direct system integration activities and ensure validation.
• Support development of integrated master schedule for engineering deliverables.
• Drive make/buy decisions and supplier evaluation.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Serve as primary technical interface with customer.

Skills

15 years engineering experience

Program management experience

PMP or CAPM

Systems integration experience

Education

Bachelor's Degree in STEM

Master’s Degree in Engineering

Job description

AeroVironment, Inc. in Petaluma, CA, seeks a Chief Engineer, Systems to provide technical leadership across mechanical, electrical, software and systems disciplines, ensuring architecture integrity, interface control, and successful program deliveries.

You will lead reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR), guide risk mitigation, mentor engineers, and interface with customers and subcontractors, while aligning with MIL-STDs, ISO 15288, and contract data requirements.