You will be the technical owner of the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test environments used to verify Neon Aero's flight-critical actuator control software: architecture, build-out, qualification strategy, and day-to-day operation.
This is a Staff-level individual contributor role. You set technical direction for verification environments across the company and are accountable for the decisions that come out of it, but you do it through your own work and your influence on peers, not through a reporting line. You will write the architecture documents and you will also crimp connectors, debug timing on a real-time target, and get a test script to pass before a formal test readiness review. The environment you build will be used as certification credit evidence, so everything you design has to be traceable, repeatable, configuration controlled, and defensible in front of a DER or certification authority.
What you will doArchitect and build the environment- Define the end-to-end architecture of the HIL environment: real-time platform, IO, signal conditioning, breakout and fault insertion, wiring harnesses, and the rig-to-UUT interface control document (ICD).
- Lead the platform trade study and selection of real-time test hardware (from candidates like dSpace, NI, etc.), and defend the recommendation on technical, schedule, cost, and tool qualification grounds.
- Specify and integrate a real-time motor and load model (electrical, mechanical, and thermal as required) with step rates sufficient to close the loop against the controller's current and position loops.
- Design position sensor feedback strategy, including fidelity and failure injection requirements.
- Design the CAN command interface to support multiple architectures (COM/MON, COM/COM, etc.)
- Design instrumentation for the digital cross-channel data exchanged between the command and monitor processors, including passive monitoring and controlled corruption or delay.
Build the test automation framework- Own the Python test framework and its hardware abstraction layer so that test scripts are written against generic operations and are retargetable across environments without modification.
- Define the signal database and environment descriptor scheme that maps generic signals to physical channels, scaling, and platform-specific APIs.
- Define test case structure, result formats, logging, time synchronization, and traceability from high-level software requirements to test procedures to results.
- Establish the strategy for tool qualification under DO-330 for any part of the framework or environment that is used for certification credit, and minimize what needs to be qualified through architecture choices.
Support certification- Ensure the environment and process satisfy the applicable DO-178C verification objectives, including requirements-based testing on target hardware (Section 6.4), test coverage analysis, and the justification of any differences between the test environment and the target environment.
- Contribute to the Software Verification Plan (SVP), Software Verification Cases and Procedures (SVCP), test environment description, and Software Configuration Index items related to the environment.
- Support Stage of Involvement (SOI) audits, test readiness reviews, and formal test witnessing.
Operate, scale, and raise the bar- Own configuration management of the rig: hardware revision, firmware, model versions, calibration, and framework releases.
- Establish rig bring-up, calibration, and periodic health check procedures.
- Serve as technical lead for external vendors delivering environment components or prototypes, including scope definition, statement of work review, acceptance testing, and hand-over.
- Set the standard for how requirements-based tests are written at Neon Aero, review test designs from software and test engineers, and coach them toward it.
- Define the roadmap from a single prototype rig to multiple production rigs and variants.
What we are looking forRequired- Bachelor's degree in electrical, computer, aerospace, or mechanical engineering, or equivalent experience.
- Minimum of 10 years in embedded or aerospace systems, with at least 5 years designing or leading HIL or systems integration lab environments, and a track record of owning an environment from concept through use in formal testing.
- Direct experience with DO-178C verification objectives and producing evidence that has passed certification authority or DER review. Working knowledge of DO-330 tool qualification.
- Hands-on experience with at least one real-time test platform (dSPACE, NI VeriStand or LabVIEW RT, Speedgoat, or a self-built RTOS or PREEMPT_RT system) including its Python or scripting API.
- Strong Python skills, including designing frameworks and APIs used by other engineers, not just writing scripts.
- Understanding of motor control fundamentals (BLDC or PMSM, current and position loops, commutation) sufficient to specify and validate a real-time motor model.
- Experience with CAN bus (and ideally CAN FD or ARINC 825) at the frame, timing, and error injection level.
- Experience with encoder interfaces (incremental quadrature and at least one absolute protocol such as SSI, BiSS, or EnDat, or resolver) and with their emulation.
- Comfortable with lab hardware: oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, signal conditioning, harness design, grounding and noise mitigation.
- Clear technical writing. You will produce documents that get audited.
- Demonstrated ability to drive technical decisions across teams without formal authority.
Strongly preferred- Experience with dissimilar dual-processor (command/monitor or dual-lane) architectures and their verification challenges.
- FPGA or real-time IO experience for high-rate signal emulation.
- Experience with model-based development toolchains (Simulink, Simulink Real-Time, or similar) and with qualifying or validating plant models.
- Familiarity with DO-254, ARP4754A, and DO-160 as they relate to integrated test.
- Experience with pytest or similar frameworks, CI integration for hardware test, and requirements management tools (DOORS, Jama, Polarion).
- Prior work on flight control actuation, electromechanical actuators, or similar safety-critical servo systems.
- Experience writing statements of work and technically managing external engineering vendors.
Working Conditions- Fast-paced, highly collaborative engineering environment.
- Occasional travel to vendor sites, test facilities, and partner locations.
- Hands-on lab work alongside architecture and documentation responsibilities.
- Role may involve regulated, export-controlled, or classified environments.
Why Join Us - Work alongside elite engineering talent and innovators across aerospace and technology.
- Be part of a team moving faster than the industry standard and shaping solutions that are lower-cost, autonomous, and scalable.
- Help deliver the future of aviation while building your career in an environment that values ownership, innovation, and meaningful impact.
- Competitive compensation, including equity participation, growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits, helps support you in and out of work.
This is the expected compensation range for this role. Final compensation will be based on role scope, experience, skills, internal equity and location. This role may also be eligible for bonus/equity/benefits, if applicable.
$150,000-$250,000 USD
