Systems Lead

Trimble Inc.; California; On-site; USD 164,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Trimble Military and Advanced Systems in Sunnyvale, CA seeks an experienced Systems Lead to guide the development of high-performance, safety-critical embedded GPS receivers for military aviation and defense platforms. You will own requirements, qualification, and certification strategies under DO-178C and DO-254, shaping end-to-end lifecycle.

Lead a verification engineering team, define lifecycle data, collaborate with program management and customers, and ensure traceability across hardware

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.
• 10+ years of professional engineering experience in safety-critical applications (avionics/aerospace/medical).
• Proven cross-functional technical leadership and program execution under tight constraints.
• Excellent communication and ability to obtain U.S. DoD security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Spearhead development and refinement of software/hardware lifecycle plans for safety-critical embedded systems.
• Architect and verify product development lifecycle data from specs to validation/qualification.

Skills

Safety-critical domains

Cross-functional leadership

Strong communication

DoD clearance eligibility

10+ years engineering

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering/CS

Tools

DOORS

Jama

Git

Job description

Lead the Future of Defense Avionics: Systems Lead - Next-Gen Military GPS

Ready to make a tangible impact on global defense while advancing cutting-edge navigation technology? Trimble Military and Advanced Systems is seeking an experienced Systems Lead to guide our high-performance embedded GPS receivers to the highest performance and safety standards, directly influencing more than 70 mission-critical global aviation and maritime platforms worldwide.

About Us:

Trimble is an industrial technology company transforming the way the world works by delivering solutions that connect the digital and physical worlds. Trimble Military and Advanced Systems (TMAS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Trimble, is the industry leader in high-performance embedded GPS navigation receivers for military aviation and national security applications, serving federal defense agencies and global partners across mission-critical platforms.

What Makes This Role Great:

In this role, you will serve as the primary architect of product requirements, qualification, and certification strategy, directly influencing the safety and success of modernized GPS aviation receivers used by defense partners worldwide. You will shape the end-to-end product development lifecycle, fostering a culture of engineering excellence while navigating complex DO-178C and DO-254 standards to deliver vital mission-critical solutions.

Key Exciting Responsibilities:

• Spearhead the development and refinement of software and hardware lifecycle plans, ensuring deterministic execution of safety-critical embedded systems for military aviation.
• Architect and verify comprehensive product development lifecycle data, from customer specifications through internal design teams to rigorous qualification strategies.
• Lead and mentor the system verification engineering team, establishing advanced verification strategies and high-reliability testing infrastructure.
• Serve as the primary technical authority supporting program management, customer field integrations, and multi-disciplinary engineering teams to ensure seamless operational deployment.

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of professional engineering experience in safety-critical applications such as avionics, aerospace, or medical equipment.
• Proven track record of cross-functional technical leadership and program execution under challenging schedule and resource constraints.
• Proactive, collaborative mindset with excellent communication skills and the ability to obtain a U.S. Department of Defense security clearance (U.S. citizenship required).

Bonus Points For:

• In-depth expertise in requirements decomposition, flow down, and traceability across hardware and software systems.
• Proven proficiency authoring complex lifecycle artifacts and managing them in DOORS, Jama, or Git.
• Working knowledge of RF, software, and interface design for multi-circuit-card assemblies.
• Direct experience mentoring, coaching, or managing engineering teams.

Logistics:

Location: Sunnyvale, CA (In Office)

Travel Requirement: Up to 10%

Why You'll Love Working With Us:

At Trimble, we are dedicated to making a tangible, positive real-world impact. We build innovative solutions designed to solve the world's most critical challenges. You'll work on projects that truly matter: Our purpose-driven culture empowers you to build and deliver solutions that make critical work faster, safer, and more sustainable. Collaborate with like‑minded people: Join an inclusive, highly collaborative team of visionary pragmatists who think boldly, support each other, and build things that work.

Be an owner:

Flourish in an entrepreneurial environment where initiative and ownership are celebrated, empowering proactive leaders to author their own success.

Systems Lead, Systems Engineering, Avionics, Military GPS, DO-178C, DO-254, Embedded Systems, Aerospace, Defense Navigation, DOORS, Verification and Validation, Systems Architecture, GNSS

Compensation: Trimble provides the following compensation range and general description of other compensation and benefits that it in good faith believes it might pay and/or offer for this position. This compensation range is based on a full time schedule. Trimble reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant's sex or other status protected by local, state, or federal law.

Hiring Range

$163,700.00-$225,000.00

Pay Rate Type

Salary

Bonus Eligible

Yes

Commission Eligible

No

Benefits: Trimble offers comprehensive core benefits that include Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability, Time off plans and retirement plans. Most of our businesses also offer tax savings plans for health, dependent care and commuter expenses as well as Paid Parental Leave and Employee Stock Purchase Plan. If this position is identified above as commission- or bonus-eligible, the terms of the commission plan or discretionary bonus plan for which you are eligible will be provided following the employee start date.

At Trimble, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where everyone can thrive. Guided by our core values-Belong, Innovate, and Grow-we embrace and celebrate differences, knowing they make us stronger and more innovative. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, welcoming individuals of all backgrounds and advancing opportunities while embracing race, color, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other protected and diverse characteristic. We are committed to offering our candidates and employees with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs the ability to seek reasonable accommodations in accordance with applicable law and/or where it would not constitute undue hardship for Trimble. For more, please see Trimble's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics at https://investor.trimble.com, under Governance Governance Documents.

Our mission to transform the way the world works starts with transforming how we work together. By actively listening, asking questions, and taking intentional actions, we cultivate a culture that provides equitable opportunities for everyone to contribute and grow.

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