Joby Aviation

Senior / Staff Aircraft Systems Engineer

Joby Aviation$161K — $273K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in relevant engineering field plus 8+ years of experience, or Master's with 6+ years, or PhD with 3+ years.
  • Strong understanding of systems engineering fundamentals, including requirements management and physical system integration.
  • Familiarity with ARP4754A/B, ARP4761/4761A, DO-178C, DO-254, and DO-160 standards.
  • Ability to operate successfully in fast-paced environments, addressing diverse engineering challenges.
  • Proven collaborative skills and ability to build interdepartmental relationships.
  • Willingness to travel to flight test sites for direct system support.

Responsibilities

  • Lead functional breakdown and allocate requirements across aircraft physical systems.
  • Manage systems integration workstreams independently and develop innovative solutions.
  • Deeply analyze how physical components and systems connect to fulfill program goals.
  • Act as a liaison among Software, Hardware, Flight Controls, Propulsion, and GCS teams for aircraft integration.
  • Advise on ConOps, DAA, and C2 initiatives, highlighting system constraints and capabilities.
  • Define verification and validation strategy, managing requirements for various test environments.
  • Contribute key insights during Technical Readiness and Flight Readiness Reviews to ensure flight safety.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive healthcare benefits.
  • Paid time off for work-life balance.
  • 401(k) plan with company matching contributions.
  • Employee stock purchase plan to invest in the company.
  • Short- and long-term disability coverage for peace of mind.
  • Life insurance for financial security.
Full Job Description
Overview

As a Systems Engineer focused on physical systems Integration, you will play a critical role in how our aircraft's hardware and systems come together. You will focus heavily on functional breakdown and requirements allocation across various physical systems on the aircraft, ensuring seamless integration from concept through certification. Operating as a skilled professional, you will own key integration workstreams, navigate complex technical challenges, and influence design solutions across adjacent disciplines. While you will serve as a key stakeholder and contributor for Concept of Operations (ConOps), Detect and Avoid (DAA), and Command and Control (C2), your primary ownership will remain rooted in physical systems architecture and integration.

Responsibilities
  • Lead the functional breakdown and requirements allocation for physical systems across the aircraft, ensuring traceability and alignment with vehicle-level objectives.
  • Own and manage systems integration workstreams, working independently to adapt existing approaches and devise solutions based on limited precedent.
  • Deeply understand how multiple physical parts and systems integrate to achieve overarching program objectives.
  • Serve as the technical bridge across Software, Hardware, Flight Controls, Propulsion, and GCS teams to integrate the aircraft system.
  • Act as an influential stakeholder for ConOps, DAA, and C2 initiatives, providing systems engineering support and ensuring physical system constraints and capabilities are accurately represented.
  • Define V&V strategy. Allocate requirements across analysis, simulation (Model-in-the-Loop / Software-in-the-Loop), Hardware-in-the-Loop, system integration lab, and flight test, with explicit verification objectives, credit claims, and configuration baselines.
  • Key contributor to Technical Readiness Reviews (TRR) and Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR). Provide the analytical green light that aircraft systems are safe to transition to the flight test team.
Required
  • Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or a related field with a minimum of 8+ years of relevant experience; or a Master's degree with 6+ years / PhD with 3+ years of experience.
  • Demonstrated competence in systems engineering fundamentals, including functional breakdown, requirements management, and physical systems integration in support of aircraft development.
  • Experience with ARP4754A/B, ARP4761/4761A, and the DO-178C / DO-254 / DO-160 family.
  • Proven ability to operate in a fast-paced, high-quality environment, solving problems of diverse scope.
  • Strong collaborative skills with a track record of building productive working relationships to resolve mutual interdisciplinary problems.
  • Willingness to travel to flight test locations to support experimental troubleshooting and correlate flight data to system models.
Desired
  • 10+ years of demonstrated success in systems engineering within the aerospace industry or complex hardware development.
  • Experience serving as a "Super-User" or subject matter expert for specific systems engineering tools and methodologies.
  • A broad and deep understanding of aircraft systems that allows you to intuitively grasp how different functional areas impact one another.
  • Experience with SORA / SORA Annex F v2.5 (or equivalent operational risk assessment framework) and JARUS AMC RPAS.1309 Issue 2.
  • Experience with Group 5 UAS or BVLOS operations.
  • Digital flight control systems development.
  • Clean-sheet aerospace development.
Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is$161,400 - $273,000/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

About Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation is an aerospace company that is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for urban air mobility. The company's aircraft is designed to be quiet, efficient, and environmentally friendly, and is intended to provide a faster and more convenient mode of transportation for urban commuters. Joby Aviation was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. The company has received funding from a variety of investors, including Toyota and JetBlue Technology Ventures.
Learn more about Joby Aviation
Size
500 employees
Market Cap
$2 billion
Industry
Founded
2009
NASDAQ

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