Systems Requirements EngineerAirborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance SystemsBurlington ONAbout the RoleAt PVLabs, a requirement connects an operational need to an engineering commitment. Getting that connection right means understanding what the customer is trying to accomplish, the conditions the system will encounter, and how its performance will be demonstrated.
We build stabilized airborne imaging systems that bring optics, mechanics, electronics, controls, software and laser technologies together into mission capability. We are seeking a Systems Requirements Engineer who can translate customer and end-user needs into clear, achievable requirements-and maintain that intent through design, integration, verification and delivery.
You will work directly with customers, engineering, program management and leadership. Your contribution is to clarify expectations, expose assumptions and ensure that technical commitments are understood before they become design decisions or acceptance disputes.
In our small, multidisciplinary team, the role extends beyond building or managing a requirements database. You will contribute to operational concepts, architecture, interfaces and technical trade-offs, while keeping the team connected to what the system must accomplish for the people using it.
About the Responsibilities- Understand customer missions, operator workflows and platform constraints; develop Concepts of Operations that establish how the system will be used.
- Translate operational needs into clear, consistent, feasible and verifiable requirements, with explicit assumptions and measurable acceptance criteria.
- Decompose and allocate requirements across subsystems, maintaining traceability from customer need through design and verification evidence.
- Establish requirements baselines and manage proposed changes, assessing effects on performance, interfaces, cost, risk and schedule before commitments are revised.
- Contribute to system architecture and define interface requirements with the relevant engineering disciplines and external partners.
- Support technical trade studies involving performance, size, weight, power, cost and operational constraints.
- Provide requirements clarification and technical compliance assessments from bids and proposals through delivery, identifying exceptions and unresolved commitments.
- Work with program management and engineering to align deliverables, configurations and priorities with agreed requirements.
- Lead requirements reviews and support preliminary and critical design reviews, making gaps, maturity and technical risks visible.
- Develop verification and validation plans with engineering and test teams, defining how compliance and operational suitability will be demonstrated.
- Support integration, environmental testing and field evaluations; assess findings against requirements and coordinate resolution of discrepancies.
- Maintain concise, controlled requirements, interface and compliance records that support engineering decisions and customer acceptance.
Key Requirements- An engineering degree in Systems, Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace or a related discipline, or equivalent demonstrated capability.
- Experience owning requirements work for complex electro-optical, electromechanical or mechatronic systems across multiple development programs.
- Proficiency in requirements definition, decomposition, allocation, baseline management and traceability using DOORS, Jama or comparable tools.
- Experience working directly with customers or end-users to clarify operational needs, resolve ambiguity and establish achievable technical commitments.
- Strong understanding of system architecture, subsystem interfaces, configuration management and requirements change impacts.
- Experience linking requirements to verification methods and acceptance criteria, and assessing whether the evidence supports compliance.
- Working knowledge of applicable environmental, EMI/EMC, airworthiness and software-assurance requirements, including how to determine their relevance to a particular product or program.
- The ability to evaluate technical trade-offs and explain their consequences across engineering disciplines.
- Precise technical writing and mature communication: credible with engineers, clear with customers and useful to program management and leadership.
- Practical engagement with hardware, integration or testing sufficient to recognize when a requirement is difficult to implement, measure or demonstrate.
Beneficial Experiences and Background- Experience with airborne ISR systems, stabilized payloads, precision optics, motion control or laser integration.
- Experience with aircraft or mission-system interfaces and customer-specific payload configurations.
- Work on highly customized or multi-partner programs.
- Model-Based Systems Engineering experience using SysML and tools such as Cameo or Rhapsody.
- Familiarity with relevant standards such as MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-704, DO-160 and applicable ARP4754 and DO-178 guidance.
- MATLAB or Python for modelling, simulation or performance analysis.
- Experience supporting bids, qualification activities, field evaluations or customer acceptance.
About You as a Systems Requirements EngineerWe value those who think in systems who naturally look beyond the component to understand how everything works together. You thrive on ambiguity, see complexity as an intellectual challenge, and bring clarity where others see noise.
You listen carefully before turning a request into a requirement. You ask how the system will be used, what success looks like and which constraints are genuinely fixed. You can distinguish an operational need from a preferred solution and help stakeholders work through the difference.
You are precise without becoming procedural for its own sake. You recognize that a well-written requirement must also be necessary, achievable and understood by the people responsible for delivering it.
Your credibility comes from technical understanding, clear language and balanced judgment. You can challenge an assumption constructively, explain a limitation without obscuring it, and keep customer expectations aligned with engineering reality.
You take ownership of unresolved questions and follow them through. Your work gives the team a clearer basis for decisions and the customer greater confidence in what PVLabs has committed to deliver.
What's in It for You?PVLabs is where Systems Engineering becomes a force multiplier. You'll work close to customers and the engineers building our products, helping turn mission needs into airborne capability that can be demonstrated and trusted.
We run on autonomy, mastery, and purpose-with a year-round 4-day work week, performance over presence and hybrid flexibility suited to the work. You will have meaningful ownership and a direct influence on product definition, engineering priorities and customer outcomes.
You'll join sharp, motivated people solving hard problems in stabilization, optics, motion control, imaging and laser integration. If you want your systems engineering work to stay connected to both the hardware and the people who rely on it, this is a place to make that contribution.
