Staff/Senior Staff Systems Safety Engineer

Woodward HRT/MPC; Niles (IL); On-site; USD 113,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match (4.5%)

Annual stock contribution (5%)

Tuition reimbursement

12 paid holidays

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Paid parental leave

Adoption Assistance

Employee Assistance Program

Life & AD&D / Long Term Disability

Spouse/Child Optional Life

Voluntary benefits: Home/Auto & more

Job summary

Woodward is seeking an experienced System Safety Engineer to lead safety activities for aerospace electronic systems. You will partner across systems, hardware, software, certification, quality, and program teams to ensure disciplined safety assurance and reliable product delivery for demanding aerospace applications.

The role requires translating complex safety objectives into practical design guidance, influencing cross-functional teams, and delivering robust electronic solutions in a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related engineering discipline and 8+ years of experience.
• Experience with safety-critical aerospace systems and certification artifacts.
• Knowledge of ARP4754/ARP4761, DO-178C/DO-254, and aviation guidelines.
• Ability to develop, review, or support safety analyses and certification artifacts.

Responsibilities

• Lead aerospace system safety activities across the product lifecycle, including hazard identification, safety requirements development, architecture safety assessments, verification planning, and certification support.
• Perform and document safety analyses such as FHA, PSSA, SSA, FTA, FMEA/FMECA, CCA, PRA, ZSA, etc.
• Collaborate with systems, electrical, software, mechanical, test, quality, and program teams to allocate safety requirements and verify mitigations.
• Support development assurance and certification activities aligned with ARP4754/AR0P4761, DO-178C, DO-254, DO-160 guidance.
• Define and maintain safety artifacts, assumptions, derived requirements, traceability, DAL considerations, and evidence for reviews and audits.
• Advise engineering leadership on safety risk, compliance strategy, and trade-offs between system architecture, reliability, performance, and maintainability.
• Mentor engineers in aerospace safety practices and promote standardisation of safety documentation.

Skills

Aerospace System Safety

Safety Analysis Methods

Aerospace Standards & Certification

Requirements & Traceability

Systems Engineering

Technical Analysis

Cross-Functional Leadership

Communication

Problem Solving

Continuous Improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Computer Engineering

Job description

Woodward is committed to creating a great workplace for all team members. Our company and its members are committed to acting with integrity, being respectful and accountable to one another, and staying humble and driven, while maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards.

We are steadfastly committed to attracting the best talent across our communities creating a rewarding workplace. Together we are fulfilling our purpose to design and deliver energy control solutions our partners count on to power a clean future.

Woodward supports our members' wellbeing and regularly benchmarks with other companies in our industry to offer an extensive Total Reward package for this position. Salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Staff:

Estimated annual base pay:$113,200 (minimum) - $147,000 (midpoint) - $181,000 (maximum)

Senior Staff:

Estimated annual base pay:$145,000 (minimum) - $181,000 (midpoint) - $218,000 (maximum)

• All members included in annual cash bonus opportunity
  • 401(k) match (4.5%)
  • Annual Woodward stock contribution (5%)
  • Tuition reimbursement and Training/Professional Development opportunities for all members
• 12 paid holidays, including floating holidays
• Industry leading medical, dental, and vision Insurance upon date of hire
• Vacation / Sick Time / Vacation Buy-up / Short Term Disability / Bereavement leave
• Paid parental leave
• Adoption Assistance
• Employee Assistance Program, including mental health benefits
• Member Life & AD&D / Long Term Disability / Member Optional Life
• Member referral bonus
• Spouse / Child Optional Life / Optional AD&D / Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending
• Voluntary benefits, including:
  • Home / Auto Insurance discounts
  • Whole Life Insurance / Critical Illness Insurance / Legal Assistance / Military Leave

*Open to Fort Collins, CO or Niles, IL locations*

Summary:

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated System Safety Engineer to join our Aerospace Electronics team. In this role, you will lead and support safety engineering activities for safety-critical aerospace electronic systems, partnering with systems, hardware, software, certification, quality, and program teams to ensure products are developed with disciplined safety assurance practices. The successful candidate will help define and validate safety requirements, evaluate system architectures, conduct safety analyses, and support compliance with applicable aerospace development and certification expectations. This position is ideal for an engineer who can translate complex safety objectives into practical design guidance, influence cross-functional teams, and help deliver robust electronic solutions for demanding aerospace applications.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead aerospace system safety activities across the product lifecycle, including hazard identification, safety requirements development, architecture safety assessments, verification planning, and certification support.
• Perform and document safety analyses such as Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), Preliminary System Safety Assessments (PSSA), System Safety Assessments (SSA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Common Cause Analysis (CCA), Particular Risk Analysis (PRA), and Zonal Safety Analysis (ZSA), as applicable.
• Collaborate with systems, electrical, software, mechanical, test, quality, and program teams to allocate safety requirements, evaluate design alternatives, and ensure mitigations are implemented and verified.
• Support development assurance and certification activities aligned with common aerospace standards and guidance, including SAE ARP4754 for aircraft and system development, SAE ARP4761 for safety assessment processes, RTCA DO-178C for airborne software, RTCA DO-254 for airborne electronic hardware, and RTCA DO-160 for environmental qualification.
• Define and maintain safety artifacts, assumptions, derived requirements, traceability, failure condition classifications, Development Assurance Level (DAL) considerations, and evidence needed to support internal reviews, customer reviews, and regulatory or certification audits.
• Advise engineering leadership and program stakeholders on safety risk, compliance strategy, certification impacts, and trade-offs between system architecture, reliability, performance, and maintainability.
• Mentor engineers in aerospace safety practices, review safety work products, and promote consistent use of safety engineering methods, tools, and documentation standards.

Key Skills:

• Aerospace System Safety: Strong understanding of aircraft and avionics system safety principles, failure condition classification, safety objectives, risk mitigation, and safety case development.
• Safety Analysis Methods: Demonstrated ability to develop or review FHA, PSSA, SSA, FTA, FMEA/FMECA, CCA, PRA, ZSA, reliability predictions, and related safety evidence.
• Aerospace Standards and Certification: Working knowledge of aerospace safety and development guidance such as ARP4754, ARP4761, DO-178C, DO-254, DO-160, and related FAA, EASA, or customer certification expectations.
• Requirements and Traceability: Ability to define, allocate, validate, and verify safety requirements while maintaining traceability from hazards and safety objectives through design implementation and test evidence.
• Systems Engineering: Experience evaluating system architectures, interfaces, redundancy strategies, monitoring, fault detection, fault isolation, fault tolerance, and degraded-mode operation for safety-critical electronics.
• Technical Analysis: Advanced ability to interpret complex technical data, reliability information, test results, and design documentation to assess safety impact and compliance risk.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Proven ability to influence and coordinate across engineering disciplines, program teams, customers, suppliers, and certification stakeholders.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex safety findings, assumptions, limitations, and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Problem Solving: Strong analytical judgment and practical decision‑making skills for resolving complex safety, certification, and design trade-off challenges.
• Continuous Improvement: Commitment to improving safety processes, analysis templates, review practices, and engineering workflows to strengthen product assurance and execution efficiency.

Successful candidates have:

• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline and 8+ years of relevant engineering experience.
• Experience with safety‑critical aerospace, avionics, electronic control, actuation, propulsion, or aircraft systems is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of Aviation Development guidelines, including: ARP4754, ARP4761, DO-178, DO-254, etc.
• Demonstrated experience developing, reviewing, or supporting system safety analyses and certification artifacts for complex aerospace products.
• Experience working with customers, suppliers, designated engineering representatives, certification authorities, or internal compliance teams is preferred.

Application window is anticipated to close 30 days from original posting date.

This information is provided in compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and is the company's good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation range and benefits offered for this position. The compensation offered to the successful applicant may vary based on factors including experience, skills, education, location, and other job‑related reasons.

This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be U.S. Persons within the meaning of the ITAR and EAR, or eligible to obtain all required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce. The ITAR defines a U.S. Person as a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident (i.e., 'Green Card holder'), or a protected person (e.g., asylee, or refugee).

Woodward is an Equal Opportunity Employer
EO/AA/M/F/Disabled/Protected Veterans