Systems Safety and Certification Engineer

Grid Aero, Inc.; San Leandro (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Grid.aero in San Leandro, CA is seeking a System Safety and Certification Engineer to lead airworthiness for its autonomous aircraft. This role focuses on defining the certification basis and safety criteria for novel platforms, deriving criteria from first principles rather than applying legacy standards.

You will tailor standards, perform hazard analyses, and coordinate with authorities to secure flight approvals while collaborating with engineering teams to ensure clear safety tradeoffs and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of system safety, reliability, or airworthiness experience.
• Direct experience developing certification bases or airworthiness criteria from foundational standards (e.g., MIL-HDBK-516, MIL-STD-882, ARP4754A/B, ARP4761).
• Ability to define safety criteria and means of compliance early in a design process.
• Experience engaging with military or civil airworthiness authorities (e.g., USAF, FAA).

Responsibilities

• Establish Airworthiness Criteria: Define and tailor certification bases and airworthiness criteria based on relevant military and civil standards tailored for autonomous aircraft.
• Define Safety Architectures: Derive safety requirements early in the design cycle to guide architectural decisions.
• Lead System Safety Analyses: Conduct FHA, FMEA, FTA, CCA and functional hazard evaluations from the ground up.
• Own the Certification Roadmap: Develop the certification plan, establish safety targets, and liaise with authorities to secure flight approvals.
• Allocate Assurance Levels: Work with software, hardware, and system leads to assign DALs and verification strategies.
• Drive Trade Studies: Evaluate safety and reliability tradeoffs to keep designs simple and safe.
• Help Define V&V Tests: Use analyses to define test cases for hardware and software components.

Skills

System safety engineering

Certification planning

Hazard analyses

First-principles thinking

Job description

Job Title: System Safety and Certification Engineer

Company: Grid.aero

Location: Onsite 4 days/week [San Leandro, CA]

About Grid.aero

Grid.aero is building the next generation of autonomous aviation systems for defense and commercial applications. Led by experienced aerospace and technology operators and backed by leading venture investors, we solve hard operational problems at the intersection of autonomy, resilient logistics, and scalable air mobility. We move quickly, operate with urgency, and build systems designed for real-world deployment where small teams own meaningful problems end-to-end.

Read this, we mean it Above all, we look for exceptional builders with deep internal drive, massive throughput, hopeless optimism, and a relentless growth mindset. The people who thrive at Grid operate with urgency, learn quickly, adapt fast, and are energized by hard problems with no obvious answers. We value individuals who continuously push themselves and the team around them to improve.

Role Overview

We are seeking a System Safety and Certification Engineer to lead safety and airworthiness for our autonomous aircraft. In this role, you will define the overall airworthiness strategy and certification basis for novel autonomous platforms. Rather than simply applying legacy standards to a finished vehicle, you will work from first principles to derive and establish airworthiness criteria tailored to new mission capabilities, reason from failure modes up, and push back on complexity that does not buy safety.

What You’ll Do

• Establish Airworthiness Criteria: Define and tailor certification bases and airworthiness criteria based on relevant military and civil standards (e.g., MIL-HDBK-516, ARP4754/4761) tailored for autonomous/uncrewed aircraft platforms.
• Define Safety Architectures: Derive safety requirements and means of compliance early in the design cycle to guide architectural decisions rather than evaluating compliance post-design.
• Lead System Safety Analyses: Conduct system safety assessments, hazard analyses (FHA, FMEA, CCA, FTA), and functional hazard evaluations from the ground up.
• Own the Certification Roadmap: Develop the certification plan, establish safety targets, and lead interactions with military and civil airworthiness authorities to secure flight approvals.
• Allocate Assurance Levels: Partner with software, hardware, and system leads to assign design assurance levels (DALs) and set verification strategies.
• Drive Trade Studies: Evaluate safety and reliability tradeoffs to maintain simple, safe, and cost-effective designs.
• Help Define V&V Tests: Use the safety analyses to help define test cases for various hardware and software components.

Key Qualifications

• First-principles thinker who finds the simplest path to the goal, thrives in a fast-paced environment, and builds safety models from scratch.
• 5+ years of experience in system safety, reliability, or airworthiness engineering for aircraft programs.
• Direct experience developing certification bases or airworthiness criteria from foundational standards (e.g., MIL-HDBK-516, MIL-STD-882, ARP4754A/B, ARP4761) for complex, novel, or uncrewed aircraft programs.
• Demonstrated ability to define safety criteria and means of compliance early in a design process rather than solely auditing finished products.
• Proven track record performing system hazard analyses (FHA, FMEA, FTA, CCA) and feeding results directly into early design cycles.
• Experience engaging with military or civil airworthiness authorities (e.g., USAF Airworthiness Office, FAA) to negotiate certification bases and flight approvals.
• Clear communicator capable of explaining complex safety tradeoffs to engineering leads, executive leadership, and regulators.
• Legal Requirement: Due to U.S. export control laws, candidates must be U.S. persons (U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents).

Compensation

$150k-200k | .1-.5 Equity

Equal Opportunity Employer

Grid.aero is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees regardless of race, color, religion, gender, orientation, or status.

Legal Notice

Grid.aero is committed to complying with U.S. export control laws. Due to the nature of our work, candidates must be U.S. persons (U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)).