Director of Systems Engineering

About the role

• We are building the systems that enable safe, scalable autonomous drone operations. As Director of Systems Engineering, you will define and own the traceability and verification strategy that ensures our products meet the highest safety and regulatory standards. Reporting directly to the CTO, you will lead our systems engineering and architecture team, establishing the processes, tools, and culture required to deliver safety-critical systems from concept through certification.
• This is a hands-on leadership role. You will work alongside your team on complex technical challenges while building the organizational capability to scale. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in aviation, air traffic management, or safety-critical software systems, combined with a passion for mentoring engineers and driving engineering excellence.

What you'll do

Strategic & Regulatory Leadership

• Define and own the end-to-end traceability and verification strategy, aligning requirements with design, implementation, and certification (DO-178C, DO-254, ARP4754A).
• Establish and continuously improve systems engineering processes and governance.
• Lead safety assessment activities (FHA, SSA, FTA).
• Serve as the SME for systems engineering standards and regulatory compliance (FAA, EASA).
• Maintain current knowledge of evolving UAS regulations and proactively adapt practices

Technical & Team Execution

• Lead the systems engineering and architecture team, providing technical direction on complex system-of-systems challenges.
• Own system architecture decisions, trade studies, and requirements decomposition across all domains.
• Drive the selection and implementation of requirements management and MBSE tools.
• Build, mentor, and develop a high-performing systems engineering team.
• Partner with cross-functional teams (Software, Hardware, Ops) and Product Management to ensure alignment and seamless system integration.

Qualifications

Required

• 10+ years of experience in systems engineering, with at least 5 years in leadership roles
• Deep background in aviation, aerospace, air traffic management, or safety-critical autonomous systems
• Proven experience with aviation safety standards (DO-178C, DO-254, ARP4754A, ARP4761) and certification processes
• Hands-on experience leading safety assessment activities (FHA, PSSA, SSA, FTA, FMEA)
• Strong track record establishing traceability and verification strategies for complex systems
• Experience with requirements management tools (DOORS, Jama, Polarion) and MBSE methodologies (SysML, UML)
• Demonstrated ability to interface with regulatory bodies (FAA, EASA) and industry standards organizations
• Proven ability to build, mentor, and lead high-performing engineering teams
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence at executive and regulatory levels
• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Preferred

• Experience with UAS/drone systems or emerging aviation technologies (UAM, eVTOL)
• Background in air traffic management systems or airspace integration
• Experience with Agile systems engineering practices and DevSecOps integration
• Master's degree or PhD in a relevant engineering discipline
• INCOSE CSEP or ESEP certification
• Active security clearance or ability to obtain one

Security Responsibility Statement:  Employees are expected to provide a high level of security to any personal or private information accessed as part of their work, whether at a DroneUp facility or remotely.  This includes participating in security training, remaining sensitive to individual rights to personal privacy, and complying with company policies. Employees who have access to sensitive data that is protected by regulation, such as HIPAA, or by contract, such as credit card data, must comply with any additional requirements dictated by the governing regulations or associated contracts.