UAS Development Project Engineer - Rapid Iteration

Firestorm; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 123,000 - 171,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical—dental—vision

401(k)

Equity grants

Unlimited PTO

Generous holiday calendar

Parental leave

Lifestyle spending account

HSA

Wellness resources

Job summary

Firestorm, a defense tech company in San Diego, seeks a Project Engineer to drive the full lifecycle of unmanned aerial systems. You’ll translate system goals into concrete plans, track deliverables, and coordinate multi-disciplinary teams to move concepts to flight-ready platforms.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in aerospace/defense, strong fundamentals, and hands-on CAD/Simulink experience. This is a fast-paced, collaborative role with FAA/DoD exposure and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years in aerospace/defense engineering with at least 2 years as Project Engineer.
• U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain DoD security clearance.
• Experience with aircraft platform development, integration, or flight system maturity.
• Familiarity with flight controls, avionics, propulsion, and payload integration.
• CAD and simulation tools proficiency (SolidWorks, MATLAB/Simulink).
• Strong engineering fundamentals and first principles analysis.
• Experience with systems engineering methodologies and program execution.

Responsibilities

• Manage technical maturity of UAS systems from concept through production, ensuring alignment with timelines and budgets.
• Lead design and program reviews (SDR, PDR, CDR, TRR, PRR) and rapid iteration.
• Coordinate across aero, mechanical, electrical, autonomy, software, propulsion, manufacturing, and flight test teams.
• Translate system goals into derived requirements and interface definitions.
• Maintain architecture artifacts and interface control documents; support agile development.
• Conduct reviews for structural analyses, aerodynamic assessments, and flight test plans.
• Define verification/validation methods and support test assets (HIL, rigs, data pipelines).
• Prepare technical reports and readiness summaries for leadership.

Skills

Project engineering

Systems engineering

Cross-functional coordination

Aerospace engineering

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering

Master’s degree in relevant field (preferred)

Tools

SolidWorks

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

Firestorm, a defense tech company in San Diego, seeks a Project Engineer to drive the full lifecycle of unmanned aerial systems. You’ll translate system goals into concrete plans, track deliverables, and coordinate multi-disciplinary teams to move concepts to flight-ready platforms.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in aerospace/defense, strong fundamentals, and hands-on CAD/Simulink experience. This is a fast-paced, collaborative role with FAA/DoD exposure and growth opportunities.