Staff/Senior Staff Systems Safety Engineer

16 MPC Products Corporation (Woodward MPC, Inc.); Niles (IL); On-site; USD 145,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Annual stock contribution

Tuition reimbursement

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Woodward seeks an experienced System Safety Engineer to join the Aerospace Electronics team. You will lead safety activities across the product lifecycle, define safety requirements, and perform analyses to support certification with cross-functional teams.

Collaborating with systems, hardware, software, and QA, you will ensure disciplined safety assurance and compliance with ARP4754/ARP4761, DO-178C, DO-254, and DO-160 guidance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of engineering experience in safety-critical aerospace domains is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead aerospace system safety activities across the product lifecycle, including hazard identification and safety requirements development.
• Perform FHA, PSSA, SSA, FTA, FMEA/FMECA, CCA, PRA, ZSA analyses and related safety evidence.
• 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/ARP4761, DO-178C, DO-254, DO-160 standards and guidance.
• Define and maintain safety artifacts, assumptions, traceability, and evidence for internal and regulatory reviews.
• Advise leadership on safety risk, compliance strategy, and trade-offs between architecture, reliability, and maintainability.

Skills

System Safety

Safety Analysis

Aerospace Standards

Traceability

Systems Engineering

Technical Analysis

Cross-Functional Leadership

Communication

Problem Solving

Continuous Improvement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a technical field

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.

Compensation and Benefits

• 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

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

Compliance and Eligibility

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 #LI-AT1

About Woodward

What does it mean to be part of Woodward? It means contributing to what matters most in your career, in your community and around the world. It means being a part of rewarding experiences, where innovation, collaboration and problem-solving are at the heart of what we do. Woodward is the global leader in the design, manufacturing, and service of energy conversion and control solutions for the aerospace and industrial equipment markets. Together with our customers, we are enabling the path to a cleaner, decarbonized world. Our innovative fluid, combustion, electrical, propulsion and motion control systems perform in some of the world’s harshest environments. At Woodward we have created a culture that appreciates and values the contributions of every member. We are a global team of curious, innovative problem-solvers who commit our knowledge, resources and technical expertise to the challenges associated with reducing emissions, enabling alternative energy sources and increasing efficiency, always innovating for a better future. Woodward is working with our customers to solve some of the world’s biggest energy challenges. This important work needs more than just the brightest technical minds. It requires talented and committed manufacturing professionals, accountants, supply chain managers, human resources experts, information technology specialists and many more. We are looking for dedicated people who want to learn and grow in a supportive environment that fosters collaboration, innovation and inclusion.