Flight Research Systems Engineer

XWING; Concord (CA); On-site; USD 104,800 - 152,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

401(k) plan with company match

RSU/stock options

Paid time off

Job summary

Joby Aviation seeks a Flight Research Systems Engineer to own the architecture, integration, and lifecycle success of avionics systems, spanning requirements, development, certification, and entry into service. You will work with software, hardware, and GCS teams to adapt the stack for new configurations and applications.

This role demands a solid background in aircraft systems, model‑based design, and safety‑critical development.

Qualifications

• BS in Aerospace, Systems, or Electrical Engineering (or related).
• 5+ years in systems engineering for complex, safety‑critical vehicles; advanced degree adds value.
• Experience with system requirements, traceability, and validation.
• Knowledge of SSA, FHA, and FMECA analyses.
• Proficiency with Jama, Polarion, DOORS for requirements management.
• US Person status is required per export control rules.

Responsibilities

• Lead system architecture and requirements ownership with traceability.
• Conduct trade studies and lead make/buy decisions with external vendors.
• Drive safety and reliability efforts (SSA, FHA, FMECA) for autonomous systems.
• Coordinate cross‑functional integration between Software, Hardware, and GCS.
• Define verification strategy including simulation, HIL, and light testing.
• Lead TRR and FRR reviews to ensure flight‑test readiness.
• Mentor junior engineers and standardize engineering workflows.

Skills

Systems engineering

Requirements management

Safety analysis

V‑model knowledge

Systems architecting

Education

BS in Aerospace, Systems, or Electrical Engineering

Advanced degree (MS/PhD) encouraged

Tools

Jama

Polarion

DOORS

Job description

Flight Research Systems Engineer

Company Overview

Imagine a piloted air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly carries you and your fellow passengers over the congested city streets below, enabling you to spend more time with the people and places that matter most. At Joby, we've been working to make that dream a reality since 2009 and we're now in the final stages of certifying our aircraft with the FAA. With plans to launch our aircraft in the US and Dubai, we're now scaling manufacturing and preparing for the launch of our commercial service.

Overview

The Systems Engineers will own the architecture, integration, and life‑cycle success of a single or multiple avionics systems, ranging from requirements management, development, certification, and entry into service.

Joby Aviation’s flight research team is looking for a passionate Systems Engineer to join our growing team. This is a position that provides the engineer a chance to interact with many of the key teams and disciplines within the company. The Systems Engineer will provide technical guidance and coordination across the Autonomy Systems. This role will own the architecture, integration, and life‑cycle success of the autonomy system, ranging from requirements management, development, certification, and entry into service. This role will be responsible for leading the development and certification of systems and sub‑systems and ensuring successful design validation and verification. The Systems Engineer will work very closely with Software, Hardware and GNC teams to ensure the avionics systems meet the needs of the program.

This position requires a solid understanding of aircraft systems, system development, and industry specific certification processes. This position requires enough background knowledge and a willingness to learn to enable one to understand the complex trade‑offs involved in the system design both within Avionics and across the aircraft systems as a whole.

The most important traits at Joby are a positive attitude towards the project, strong work ethic, and being able to self‑manage and learn new skills. Forward thinking and the ability to adapt quickly to a fast‑paced environment are a must.

Responsibilities

• Systems Architecture & Requirement Ownership: Lead the definition and management of system‑level requirements and traceability. You don’t just write requirements; you define the hierarchy and validation methods using tools like Jama, Polarion, or Flow.
• Conduct Trade Studies: Evaluate architectures and specific component options against considerations such as functional assessment, cost, mass, reliability, and performance at the component and aircraft level. Lead make versus buy decisions. Engage with external vendors.
• Safety & Reliability Leadership: Drive System Safety Assessments (SSA), Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), and Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) for complex autonomous systems.
• Cross-Functional Integration: Serve as the "glue" between specialized teams (Software, Hardware, Flight Controls, and GCS) to adapt the Joby hardware and software stack to new configurations and applications.
• V&V Strategy (Verification & Validation): Define the master verification plan. You determine which requirements are met through simulation, HIL (Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop) testing, and/or light testing.
• Flight Readiness Authority: Lead the Technical Readiness Reviews (TRR) and Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR). You provide the analytical "green light" that the aircraft systems are safe to transition to the flight test team.
• Mentorship: Act as a lead for project specific systems engineers, reviewing their work, defining project level best practices, and standardizing engineering workflows.

Required

• BS in Aerospace, Systems, or Electrical Engineering (or related)
• Bachelor's degree +5 years experience; Advanced degree +3 years experience
• Systems engineering experience developing complex, safety‑critical vehicles, with depth on at least one side of the V and a clear desire to grow into full‑V ownership
• Thorough understanding of systems engineering concepts and methods, including system‑level requirements definition, traceability, and validation
• Experience with safety and reliability analyses such as System Safety Assessments (SSA), Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), and FMECA
• Proficiency with requirements management and traceability tools (e.g., Jama, Polarion, DOORS)
• This position must meet US export control compliance requirements, therefore a candidate must qualify as a “US Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15. “US Person” includes US Citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees, or asylees.

Desired

• Demonstrated full‑V experience developing complex, safety‑critical vehicles
• MS/PhD in engineering
• Experience with autonomous system logic, Command & Control (C2) link reliability, and GCS integration for Group 3‑5 UAS
• Experience with digital flight control systems
• Experience with aircraft certification development and test processes (ARP4754, DO‑178C, DO‑254, DO‑160)
• MBSE experience and tool proficiency (e.g., Cameo/MagicDraw, Capella, Rhapsody)
• Demonstrated success in clean‑sheet aerospace development
• Experience leading Technical Readiness Reviews (TRR) and Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR)
• Experience mentoring systems engineers and standardizing engineering workflows

Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $104,800 - $152,000/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short‑term and long‑term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

Joby Aviation is an equal opportunity employer.