Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 18, 2026. First seen by Alion on Sep 30, 2026. AeroVironment scores B on the Alion truth index.
Worker Type
RegularJob Description
AV is looking for a highly talented Range Safety & Flight Termination Engineer to support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Targets and Countermeasures Engineering Directorate (MDA/TCE). In this role, you will provide critical engineering expertise for the flight terminations systems (FTS) used across launch and reentry vehicles.
Job Description:
- Serve as Range Safety expert on behalf of the Targets Program office during flight tests, Range Safety Working Groups, and flight termination testing.
- Provide oversight of requirements development, allocation and verification for target system FTS products, including autonomous flight termination systems.
- Conduct technical surveillance across FTS hardware and software development, qualification, acceptance, integration, and final checkout.
- Author technical reports detailing system status, analytical findings, and formal recommendations.
- Represent government stakeholder interests in technical working groups, customer forums, and formal design reviews.
Required Qualifications:
- Master's degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) field
- 12+ years of experience
- Security Clearance: Active DoD Secret clearance
- Technical Expertise: Demonstrated background in flight termination systems and ordnance systems.
- Standards: Proficient in flight safety analysis products, specifically RCC-319 (Flight Termination Commonality Standard) and RCC-324 (Range Safety Tracking Systems Commonality Standard).
- Tracking Systems: Working knowledge of range tracking architectures, including GPS, Inertial Measurement Units (IMU), and C-band tracking
- Communication & Mobility: Strong written and verbal briefing skills; willingness and ability to travel for mission deployments.
Desired Qualifications:
- Direct experience with Autonomous Flight Termination Systems (AFTS)
- Hands-on flight test operations experience.
- Technical background in RF systems, antennas, batteries, and ordnance devices.
- 10 + years of experience in defense and aerospace.
ITAR Requirement:
This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants will be asked to provide specific documentation to verify U.S. person status under the ITAR and the EAR. A “U.S. person” according to their definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee, or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.
Benefits: AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.
We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.
Principals only need apply. NO agencies please.
Who We Are
Based in California, AeroVironment (AVAV) is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Founded in 1971 by celebrated physicist and engineer, Dr. Paul MacCready, we’ve been at the leading edge of technical innovation for more than 45 years. Be a part of the team that developed the world’s most widely used military drones and created the first submarine-launched reconnaissance drone, and has seven innovative vehicles that are part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection in Washington, DC.
Join us today in developing the next generation of small UAS and tactical missile systems that will deliver more actionable intelligence to our customers so they can proceed with certainty - and succeed.
What We Do
Building on a history of technological innovation, AeroVironment designs, develops, produces, and supports an advanced portfolio of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense and allied military services use the company’s hand-launched UAS to provide situational awareness to tactical operating units through real-time, airborne reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.
ITAR