Senior / Staff Aircraft Systems Engineer

Joby Aviation; Santa Cruz (CA); On-site; USD 161,000 - 273,000; Full time

Job summary

Joby Aviation is seeking a Systems Engineer focused on physical systems integration for aircraft development. You will own integration workstreams, define verification strategies, and coordinate across Software, Hardware, Flight Controls, Propulsion, and GCS teams to ensure seamless integration from concept to flight.

The role emphasizes traceability, rigorous requirements allocation, and collaboration with cross-disciplinary teams, with travel to flight test locations as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering or related field with 8+ years of experience; or Master's with 6+ years; PhD with 3+ years.
• Demonstrated competence in systems engineering fundamentals including functional breakdown, requirements management, and physical systems integration for aircraft development.
• Experience with ARP4754A/B, ARP4761/4761A, and the DO-178C/DO-254/DO-160 family.
• Proven ability to operate in a fast-paced, high-quality environment and solve problems across diverse scope.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to build productive cross-disciplinary relationships.
• Willingness to travel to flight test locations for troubleshooting and data correlation.

Responsibilities

• Lead functional breakdown and requirements allocation for physical aircraft systems with traceability to vehicle objectives.
• Own and manage systems integration workstreams, adapting approaches with limited precedent.
• Understand how multiple physical parts and systems integrate to meet program objectives.
• Serve as a technical bridge across Software, Hardware, Flight Controls, Propulsion, and GCS teams to integrate the aircraft system.
• Act as a stakeholder for ConOps, DAA, and C2, ensuring constraints and capabilities are represented.
• Define V&V strategy with analysis, simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, lab work, and flight test verification.
• Contribute to Technical Readiness Reviews (TRR) and Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR) ensuring safe transitions to flight testing.

Skills

Systems engineering fundamentals

Functional breakdown

Requirements management

Physical systems integration

Aerospace standards familiarity

Education

Bachelors in Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical/Systems Engineering

Master's degree in a related field

Tools

ARP4754A/B

ARP4761/4761A

DO-178C/DO-254/DO-160

Flight test integration tools

Job description

Joby Flight Research designs, develops, and flight-tests novel aircraft using a software-first autonomy approach. We build and deploy autonomy, perception, planning, and radar systems across conventional, electric, and hydrogen-electric aircraft in both CTOL and VTOL configurations.

Overview

As a Systems Engineer focused on physical systems Integration, you will play a critical role in how our aircraft's hardware and systems come together. You will focus heavily on functional breakdown and requirements allocation across various physical systems on the aircraft, ensuring seamless integration from concept through certification. Operating as a skilled professional, you will own key integration workstreams, navigate complex technical challenges, and influence design solutions across adjacent disciplines. While you will serve as a key stakeholder and contributor for Concept of Operations (ConOps), Detect and Avoid (DAA), and Command and Control (C2), your primary ownership will remain rooted in physical systems architecture and integration.

Responsibilities

• Lead the functional breakdown and requirements allocation for physical systems across the aircraft, ensuring traceability and alignment with vehicle-level objectives.
• Own and manage systems integration workstreams, working independently to adapt existing approaches and devise solutions based on limited precedent.
• Deeply understand how multiple physical parts and systems integrate to achieve overarching program objectives.
• Serve as the technical bridge across Software, Hardware, Flight Controls, Propulsion, and GCS teams to integrate the aircraft system.
• Act as an influential stakeholder for ConOps, DAA, and C2 initiatives, providing systems engineering support and ensuring physical system constraints and capabilities are accurately represented.
• Define V&V strategy. Allocate requirements across analysis, simulation (Model-in-the-Loop / Software-in-the-Loop), Hardware-in-the-Loop, system integration lab, and flight test, with explicit verification objectives, credit claims, and configuration baselines.
• Key contributor to Technical Readiness Reviews (TRR) and Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR). Provide the analytical green light that aircraft systems are safe to transition to the flight test team.

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or a related field with a minimum of 8+ years of relevant experience; or a Master's degree with 6+ years / PhD with 3+ years of experience.
• Demonstrated competence in systems engineering fundamentals, including functional breakdown, requirements management, and physical systems integration in support of aircraft development.
• Experience with ARP4754A/B, ARP4761/4761A, and the DO-178C / DO-254 / DO-160 family.
• Proven ability to operate in a fast-paced, high-quality environment, solving problems of diverse scope.
• Strong collaborative skills with a track record of building productive working relationships to resolve mutual interdisciplinary problems.
• Willingness to travel to flight test locations to support experimental troubleshooting and correlate flight data to system models.

Desired

• 10+ years of demonstrated success in systems engineering within the aerospace industry or complex hardware development.
• Experience serving as a "Super-User" or subject matter expert for specific systems engineering tools and methodologies.
• A broad and deep understanding of aircraft systems that allows you to intuitively grasp how different functional areas impact one another.
• Experience with SORA / SORA Annex F v2.5 (or equivalent operational risk assessment framework) and JARUS AMC RPAS.1309 Issue 2.
• Experience with Group 5 UAS or BVLOS operations.
• Digital flight control systems development.
• Clean-sheet aerospace development.

Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $161,400 - $273,000/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.

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.

Joby is an Equal Opportunity Employer