Senior System Safety Engineer

Neon Aerospace; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Neon Aero, Inc. seeks a Senior System Safety Engineer to own the safety assessment process for Neon’s aerospace systems.

You will execute ARP4761/ARP4761A analyses in support of ARP4754A/B development and customer certification programs, establishing Neon’s safety processes and delivering safety evidence within the MBSE/PLM environment. You will work with the Systems Engineering Architect to embed safety from concept through certification and serve as Neon’s primary safety interface to customers

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, Systems, or Reliability Engineering.
• 8+ years of experience in aerospace system safety with ARP4761 analyses on certified programs.
• Deep expertise in ARP4761/ARP4761A methods (FHA, PSSA, SSA, FTA, FMEA/FM ES) and integration with ARP4754A/B.
• Experience with 14 CFR XX.1309 and 23.2510 safety objectives and advisory material.
• Experience assigning development assurance levels and deriving safety requirements for hardware/software (DO-254/DO-178C).
• Hands-on experience with quantitative fault tree and reliability analysis tools.
• Ability to present and defend safety analyses with customers/certification authorities.

Responsibilities

• Lead system-level FHA, PSSA, and SSA development.
• Perform and review FTA, FMEA, and FMES analyses.
• Conduct Common Mode Analyses and contribute to Zonal Safety and PR analyses.
• Develop and manage failure rate analysis tools for product monitoring.
• Derive safety requirements and allocate to system, hardware, and software with traceability.
• Ensure DO-178C/DO-254 planning reflects IDALs and safety-derived requirements.
• Establish and maintain Neon’s system safety program plans and analysis templates.
• Integrate safety analyses with MBSE and PLM for traceability across design changes.
• Drive MBSA adoption and coordinate with cybersecurity on safety and airworthiness.

Skills

Aerospace system safety

ARP4761/ARP4761A methods

DO-178C/DO-254 planning

System safety interfaces

Customer & certification liaison

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace/Electrical/Mechanical/Systems/Reliability Engineering

Tools

Isograph

Medini Analyze

Cameo Safety and Reliability Analyzer

Flow

Siemens Teamcenter

Job description

Aerospace is at a turning point — costs are rising, supply chains are strained, and old ways of building can’t keep up. At Neon Aero, we’re breaking that mold. We move fast, think big, and combine start-up agility with aerospace expertise to design, build, and scale aircraft in ways the industry has never seen. Our team leverages automation, AI-driven tools, and a fully connected digital backbone to accelerate innovation and reduce barriers to production.

Here, you won’t just take a job — you’ll help reinvent how the world flies. If you’re ready to solve complex problems, push technology further, and work alongside some of the brightest minds in aerospace, this is your chance to make a real impact.

The Senior System Safety Engineer will own the safety assessment process for Neon’s aerospace systems, executing and governing ARP4761/ARP4761A analyses in support of ARP4754A/B development assurance and customer certification programs. This role is responsible for establishing Neon’s safety process, producing safety deliverables, and integrating safety requirements, analyses, and evidence into Neon’s requirements, MBSE, and PLM environment.

Working closely with the Systems Engineering Architect, the Senior System Safety Engineer will embed safety into Neon’s system development process from concept through certification and serve as Neon’s primary technical safety interface to customers and their certification teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Safety Assessment
  • Lead the development of system-level Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), Preliminary System Safety Assessments (PSSA), and System Safety Assessments (SSA), consistent with the customer’s aircraft-level safety assessment.
  • Perform and review Fault Tree Analyses (FTA), Failure Modes and Effects Analyses (FMEA), and Failure Modes and Effects Summaries (FMES).
  • Conduct Common Mode Analyses and provide inputs to customer Zonal Safety and Particular Risks Analyses.
  • Develop and manage failure rate analysis tools to predict and monitor product.
• Development Assurance & Safety Requirements
  • Derive safety requirements from hazard and failure analyses and allocate them to system, hardware, and software items, with traceability in Neon’s requirements management tool.
  • Assign and justify Function and Item Development Assurance Levels (FDAL/IDAL) in accordance with ARP4754A/B and ARP4761A.
  • Evaluate architectural mitigations, redundancy, and independence for catastrophic and hazardous failure conditions, and drive design changes where required.
  • Ensure DO-178C and DO-254 planning reflects assigned IDALs and safety-derived requirements.
• Safety Process & Digital Thread
  • Establish Neon’s system safety program plan, work instructions, and analysis templates aligned with ARP4761A.
  • Integrate safety analyses with Neon’s MBSE and PLM environment so that failure conditions, safety requirements, and verification evidence remain traceable and current as designs change.
  • Drive adoption of model-based safety analysis (MBSA) practices linked to Neon’s system models.
  • Coordinate with product cybersecurity on the interaction between safety and airworthiness security assessments.
• Customer & Certification Support
  • Align with customers on aircraft-level FHA allocations, safety requirements, and safety data deliverables.
  • Prepare safety deliverables for design reviews and certification data packages.
  • Present safety analyses and rationale to customers and support their engagement with certification authorities (FAA, EASA).
• Serve as Neon’s subject matter expert in aerospace system safety.
• Mentor systems and design engineers in safety-driven design and the application of safety analysis results.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with design, test, reliability, and certification teams to ensure alignment.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, Systems, or Reliability Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in aerospace system safety, including direct authorship of ARP4761 analyses on certified programs.
• Deep expertise in ARP4761/ARP4761A methods (FHA, PSSA, SSA, FTA, FMEA/FMES, CCA) and their integration with ARP4754A/B development assurance.
• Working knowledge of 14 CFR XX.1309 and 23.2510 safety objectives and associated advisory material.
• Experience assigning development assurance levels and deriving safety requirements for hardware and software items developed to DO-254 and DO-178C.
• Hands-on experience with quantitative fault tree and reliability analysis tools.
• Demonstrated ability to present and defend safety analyses with customers or certification authorities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with flight control, electromechanical actuation, or propulsion control systems.
• Familiarity with safety and reliability tools such as Isograph Reliability Workbench, Ansys medini analyze, or Cameo Safety and Reliability Analyzer.
• Experience with model-based safety analysis linked to SysML architectures.
• Familiarity with Flow and Siemens Teamcenter.
• Experience with MIL-STD-882E system safety programs.
• Familiarity with DO-326A/ED-202A airworthiness security processes.
• Experience working in startups or fast-paced environments where processes must be built from scratch.
• Knowledge of AI/ML applications in safety and systems engineering.

Why Join Neon

• Work alongside elite engineering talent and innovators from across aerospace and tech.
• Build the foundations of a digital-first aerospace company.
• Work at the cutting edge of model-based engineering and digital thread integration.
• Shape Neon’s system safety discipline and grow into a senior leadership role as the company scales.
• Competitive compensation - including equity participation, growth opportunities, and full benefits (health, dental, vision, 401k) designed to support you in and out of work

This is the expected compensation range for this role. Final compensation will be based on role scope, experience, skills, internal equity and location. This role may also be eligible for bonus/equity/benefits, if applicable.

$110,000 - $165,000 USD

Neon Aero, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation, and we welcome candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

All final candidates must successfully complete a background check and drug screening as a condition of employment.

At this time, Neon Aero and its divisions are not accepting unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters or staffing agencies.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Neon Aerospace’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A \"disabled veteran\" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A \"recently separated veteran\" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An \"active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran\" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An \"Armed forces service medal veteran\" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.