Senior Systems Engineer

Armaments Research Company; Ashburn (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity Options

401k plan

Employer paid employee medical, dental

12 paid holidays plus Flexible PTO

Job summary

Armaments Research Company in Ashburn, VA is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to bridge hardware, firmware, and cloud, owning end-to-end system architecture and development processes for a fast-moving startup.

You will decompose requirements, own ICDs and data contracts, and collaborate with mobile, firmware, hardware, and data science teams to deliver reliable, scalable IoT-enabled weapon-systems software.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in systems, electrical, or computer engineering, CS or related field.
• 7+ years engineering experience across hardware/firmware and software systems.
• Experience as a systems engineer owning requirements, interfaces, and architecture.
• Hands-on depth in IoT and embedded systems with sensor integration and cloud data paths.
• Familiarity with Zephyr RTOS, embedded C, BLE, and low-power wireless SoCs like Nordic nRF.
• Strong technical writing and documentation skills; startup experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the systems engineer across hardware, firmware, and cloud, owning end-to-end system architecture.
• Capture and decompose system requirements for embedded device, mobile apps, and cloud analytics.
• Own ICDs and data contracts between firmware, mobile, backend, and data.
• Analyze technical details across firmware, sensor integration, power constraints, networking, and cloud data flow.
• Champion development processes scaled for a startup.
• Create clear architecture descriptions, requirements, test plans, and decision records.
• Drive system-level verification including simulators, digital twins, and integration tests.
• Collaborate with mobile, firmware, hardware engineers and data scientists.
• Travel less than 10% for in-person events including system testing.

Skills

Systems engineering

Embedded hardware/software

Documentation & writing

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Travel coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in systems, electrical, or computer engineering, CS

Tools

Zephyr RTOS

BLE

Nordic nRF

Embedded C

ICDs

Job description

About Armaments Research Company

Armaments Research Company (ARC) is a technology company dedicated to bringing real-timesituational awareness and battlefield logistics capabilities to the warfighter. You will be an integral part of the ARC team managing program execution in support of our innovative and powerful IoT devices to enhance national security.

Our core offering is the ARC AI-Enabled Weapons Sensor (AEWS), which collects and transmits real-time tactical data to the cloud. This information enables battlefield/tactical awareness and aggregated insights into big data sets that do not exist today. ARC technologies were initially developed in partnership with DARPA and the National Science Foundation and leverage internet-of-things (IoT) technology and machine learning to derive actionable insights and transform operational responses.This novel technology will be deployed at scale to enhance safety, decision-making, and sustainment for the warfighter at the tactical edge.

What You’ll Do

ARC delivers artificial intelligence to the individual weapon, turning weapon systems into networked sensors that enhance warfighter situational awareness, survivability, and sustainment in contested environments. Our full-stack product spans an embedded IoT sensing device hosted in or on the weapon, intelligent mobile applications, and cloud-based analytics that aggregate device data into insights on weapon performance and mission-critical, situation-dependent data streams for our customers across national defense, law enforcement, and security.

We are looking for a Senior Systems Engineer to work across the engineering organization (firmware, hardware, mobile, backend, and data science) as the connective tissue that keeps a complex, multi-domain product coherent. You will own the systems-engineering discipline: requirements, interfaces, architecture documentation, and the development processes that let a fast-moving startup ship reliable hardware-plus-software systems. This is not a paper-only role. We want an engineer who can dig into the technical substance across the stack, from a firmware timing issue or a sensor-integration constraint to a networking ICD or a cloud data pipeline, and weigh in credibly, then capture the decision so the whole team moves faster.

Role Responsibilities – How You Will Make An Impact

• Serve as the systems engineer across the engineering team, bridging hardware, firmware, and cloud, and owning end-to-end system architecture and the interfaces where domains meet
• Capture, decompose, and maintain current and future system requirements spanning the embedded device, mobile applications, and cloud analytics, and trace them from customer need through verification
• Own the interface control documents (ICDs) and data contracts between firmware, mobile, backend, and data, driving toward machine-readable, version-controlled schemas that keep the BLE, WebSocket, and API contracts aligned as the device firmware and platform evolve
• Dig into the technical detail as needed, across firmware behavior, sensor and hardware integration, power and timing constraints, networking protocols, and cloud data flow, and provide credible technical judgment to the responsible teams
• Champion strong development processes (requirements management, design reviews, configuration and change control, and verification/validation) scaled appropriately for a startup
• Own the creation of clear technical documentation: architecture descriptions, requirements, test plans, and decision records that keep cross-functional teams aligned
• Drive system-level verification and validation, including component simulators, digital twins, and integration testing for functional verification and regression
• Collaborate closely with mobile developers, firmware engineers, hardware engineers, and data scientists to design forward-thinking approaches to hard, multi-domain problems
• This position requires travel less than 10% of the time in support of in-person events including system testing

Relevant Skills And Experience

• Bachelor's degree in systems, electrical, or computer engineering, computer science, or a related field
• 7+ years of engineering experience, with a track record spanning both hardware/firmware and software systems
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a systems engineer across disciplines, owning requirements, interfaces, and architecture on products that combine embedded hardware with cloud software
• Hands-on depth in IoT and embedded systems: sensor integration, firmware/hardware interaction, wireless links such as BLE, constrained-network operation, and device-to-cloud data paths. Familiarity with embedded C, an RTOS such as Zephyr, and low-power wireless SoCs (e.g., Nordic nRF) is a strong plus
• Strong grasp of networking protocols and interface control documents (ICDs)
• Familiarity with cloud-agnostic architectures and modern back-end/orchestration technologies
• Working knowledge of decentralized identity management, including zero-trust frameworks
• Excellent technical writing and documentation skills, with a bias toward making process lightweight and useful rather than bureaucratic
• Experience in a start-up environment

This position will require access to restricted information and facilities protected under U.S. laws and regulations, including the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM). Please note that any offer for employment will be conditioned on any required authorization to receive access to such restricted information and facilities necessary to perform the responsibilities of the position.

Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of U.S. Citizenship to meet federal government security screening requirements required for this role. The successful candidate must be a U.S. Citizen and otherwise eligible to obtain access to classified information and facilities necessary to perform the responsibilities of the position.

What We Offer:

• Equity Options
• 401k plan
• Employer paid employee medical, dental and vision
• 12 paid holidays plus Flexible PTO Policy