Principal Systems Engineer/Architect

Thales Defense & Security, Inc.; Aurora (IL); Hybrid; USD 143,000 - 183,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan

Medical insurance for self and family

Generous 401(k) up to 7% company match

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid wellness, vacation, and holidays

Parental leave

9/80 Work Schedule (every other Friday

Hybrid Working Environment

Job summary

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. in Aurora, IL is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer for Advanced Avionics & Display to lead Helmet Mounted Display design activities and bid support.

You will work with Systems, Software, Electrical, Mechanical and Field Service teams, interface with customers, and help shape US-focused product roadmaps. You will provide technical leadership across requirements decomposition, verification, and product development, with strong emphasis on avionics and HMD

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required with eligibility for access to classified information.
• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace or Systems Engineering or related field.
• 8+ years as a Systems Engineer in Aerospace or related industry.
• Strong knowledge of Avionics and Helmet Mounted Display (HMD).
• Familiarity with DO-254/DO-160/DO-178 and MIL-STD-461/810.
• Experience integrating subsystems onto aircraft/helicopters.
• Experience in AS9100D or similar environments.
• Ability to own and complete tasks independently or in teams.
• Excellent written and oral communication; fluent in English.

Responsibilities

• Support Business Development with customer meetings, requirements elicitation, architecture development, and system implementation.
• Provide SME as project design authority for Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) systems.
• Assist product teams with use-case analysis, requirements allocation, architecture and design, testing, integration, verification, and manufacturing transfer.
• Collaborate with European divisions for US market product roadmaps and unique requirements.
• Develop technical proposals and support cost estimations.
• Evaluate competing products and solutions; represent Thales at industry forums.
• Serve as customer liaison and support design reviews and technical interchanges.
• Support field installation, testing, evaluation and troubleshooting.
• Provide technical consulting on HMD, crash and ejection safety analyses and tests, and emerging markets.
• Provide engineering management with strategic counsel; travel up to 25%.

Skills

Aerospace engineering

Systems engineering

HMD

Avionics

DO-254

DO-160

DO-178

MIL-STD-461

MIL-STD-810

Customer liaison

Requirements definition

Bidding

Execution

Leadership

English fluent

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering

Systems Engineering or related discipline

Tools

AS9100D

Job description

Req Id: 520
Location:
AURORA, IL, US, 60504
Date: Oct 2, 2026
Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI) Headquartered in Clarksburg, MD, is a U.S. company that has been serving domestic and international defense Air, Land and Sea domains for 60+ years. With over 1000 employees, TDSI and its four subsidiaries (Advanced Acoustic Concepts, Digital Receiver Technologies, Tampa Microwave, and Trusted Cyber Technologies), supports U.S. Joint Services, special operations forces and multi-national partners with a variety of communication, visualization, signal intelligence/electronic warfare, and sensor/sonar capabilities. TDSI’s key technologies include tactical handheld radios, expeditionary satellite terminals, helmet-mounted displays, optics and target recognition capability, advanced radars, undersea sensing and missile systems. Lives depend on what we do!

Top Benefits

(Subject to terms of applicable policies/plans)

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan
• Medical insurance for self and eligible family members
• Generous 401(k) program- up to 7% company contribution and 100% immediate vesting
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday leave
• Paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave
• 9/80 Work Schedule (every other Friday off)
• Hybrid Working Environment
  

We currently have an opening in our Aurora, IL office for a Principal Systems Engineer - Advanced Avionics & Display. This position reports to the Mechanical/ Systems Engineering Manager. The Principal Systems Engineer provides Technical Leadership on Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) design activities including bids, requirements decomposition and flow down, verification, testing and troubleshooting. The candidate will work as a member of a design team that includes Systems, Software, Electrical, Mechanical and Field Service. The candidate must be comfortable working directly with customers and potential customers, and will work with and support Business Development in the early phases of business capture. The candidate will need to possess extensive knowledge of head and helmet-mounted display systems.

Responsibilities

• Support Business Development with customer meetings, requirements elicitation, architecture development, and systems implementation.
• Provide subject matter expertise as a project design authority of Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) systems.
• Support product development teams with use case analysis, requirements capture and allocation, architectural analysis and design, unit level testing, integration, verification and validation efforts, and transition to manufacturing.
• Collaborate with our European divisions in the development of new products and product roadmaps capturing unique requirements for the U.S. market.
• Develop technical proposals and support cost estimations.
• Evaluate competing product and solution offerings.
• Represent Thales at relevant industry forums.
• Serve as a customer liaison, supporting design reviews and other technical interchanges.
• Support field installation, testing, evaluation, and troubleshooting of equipment.
• Provide technical consultation for solving design issues in HMD, Crash and Ejection safety analysis and tests.
• Provide technical consultation on emerging and adjacent markets.
• Provide technical counsel to engineering management.
• Travel up to 25% of the time.

Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• U.S. Citizenship required. - Applicants selected may be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering or related discipline.
• 8+ years as a Systems Engineer in Aerospace (Military or Commercial) or related industry.
• Strong knowledge of Avionics products and related technology is required, Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) technology a large plus.
• Must have working knowledge of relevant industry standards (DO-254, DO-160, DO-178, MIL-STD-461 and MIL-STD-810).
• Experience integrating subsystems onto aircraft or helicopters.
• Experience working within AS9100D or similar process environments.
• Ability to take ownership of assigned work.
• Must have experience in troubleshooting and resolution of technical problems.
• Experience in requirements definition, bidding and execution.
• Must be capable of working independently or as part of a team on assigned tasks.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. – Fluent in English
• Ability to comply with all Company guidelines, policies, procedures and embrace Company Core Values.
  

The annualized pay range for this role is $143,126.10 - $182,883.35 USD along with a target incentive compensation plan (ICP) of 5%. The pay range provided is a good faith estimate representative of the experience level for the role described above. TDSI considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.
For specific questions about this job posting, candidates may contact talent acquisition at [e-mail].
Thales Defense & Security, Inc. is committed to non-discrimination as applicable under federal, state and local laws. We are an E-Verify Employer.
If you need an accommodation or assistance in order to apply for a position with Thales, please call Human Resources at 202-961-1016.
Nearest Major Market: Aurora
Nearest Secondary Market: Chicago