{"id":242614,"url":"https://alion.io/job/electra-autonomy-chief-engineer","title":"Autonomy Chief Engineer","company":{"id":93694,"name":"Electra","domain":"electra.aero","url":"https://alion.io/company/electra-aero","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"head","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Manassas, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":175000,"max":215000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":215000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":12,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-17T23:00:55Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-12","last_verified_at":"2026-11-04T11:15:32Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":78,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":78},"description":"About Electra\nAir travel is about to become something more: more direct, more accessible, and more connected to the places where people live, work and want to be. Every day in the U.S., people make 35 million trips of 50-500 miles, stuck in traffic or routed through crowded hubs. Chances are, you've been one of them. At Electra, we're changing that with the EL9, a nine-passenger, hybrid-electric aircraft that takes off and lands in just 150 feet. Our Ultra Short technology opens up thousands of new places to fly, beyond conventional runways, congested airports and long drives. We're backed by Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and Safran. Operators worldwide have signed intent-to-purchase agreements for the first 2,200 aircraft we produce, and we're moving toward first test flights in 2027.\nGetting a new kind of aircraft airborne takes more than ambition. It takes our kind of bold: people who think big while working in the real world. Who move ideas into action and collaborate without silos. Who put people first and make room at the table for everyone. Who challenge one another without diminishing one another.\nSound like you? Then look beyond what you thought were your own limits, and help us take flight beyond runways.\nThe Role\nElectra seeks a highly experienced Autonomy Chief Engineer to lead the design and integration of flight autonomy systems on future variants of Electra's flagship nine-passenger EL9 aircraft and other new products. This role will serve as a primary architect and system integrator, with emphasis on understanding the customer use cases to build conviction on the internal requirements before executing the program by maturing the design and partnerships through successful gate reviews.\nWhat You'll Do\nCustomer and Partner Engagement\nPartner with internal government and commercial programs leaders to deeply understand the real needs of the customers, not just their explicitly stated goals\nSynthesize these inputs to develop system requirements and concept of operation that define what Electra will develop to. \nAssess state of suppliers for various elements of the autonomy architecture including system components, support infrastructure, and data. Lead supplier/partner engagement and selection efforts.\nSupport internal and external communication of Electra's autonomy strategy \nTechnical Integration and Design Maturity\nDefine autonomy concept of operations, functional decomposition, and system architecture\nDevelop integration strategies aligned with existing EL9 aircraft design\nEvaluate architectures and interfaces for completeness, performance, and integration risk\nPartner with the EL9 PMO to conduct trade studies for autonomous capability enhancements\nRequirements Development and Traceability\nLead the development of requirements for EL9 autonomy system, including both aircraft requirements and non-aircraft associated elements.\nDevelop operational plan for the system including training systems, operational specifications, minimum equipment lists, etc. \nCollaborate with product development teams to ensure sound requirements flowdown and traceability.\nAssess verification approaches to confirm practicality and alignment with program objectives.\nGate Review and Development Plan\nAssemble development and test plan for autonomy systems\nLead gate reviews as design matures\nIn collaboration with the Certification Team, support the development of a initial certification strategy with the relevant airworthiness authorities, especially defense authorities. \nProvide recommendations to program leadership.\nWhat You'll Bring\nBachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience ( advanced degree preferred)\nUS Persons required\nExtensive experience (typically 12+ years) in flight autonomy or highly automated systems development\nProven ownership of complex autonomous system design and integration\nExperience supporting or participating in government certification programs, including FAA and/or defense airworthiness processes\nStrong background in formal development processes (e.g., ARP4754B)\nDemonstrated technical leadership of engineering teams and supplier engagements, through direct management and/or senior technical direction\nExperience conducting trade studies and preparing for design reviews\nExcellent communication skills with the ability to deliver clear, actionable technical feedback\nBonus Points\nPilot certificate preferred but not required.\nFamiliarity with development and test planning for ground and flight activities.\nDemonstrated experience supporting or leading certification activities, including FAA or defense airworthiness.\nDemonstrated mentorship of senior engineers and IPT leads.\nThis range reflects the anticipated hiring range across all eligible locations; actual compensation is determined based on your relevant experience, skills, and geographic location. Total compensation includes performance bonus and comprehensive benefits.\nCompensation Range\n$175,000—$215,000 USD\nWhat We Offer\nMedical, dental, and vision insurance; STD, LTD, and life insurance\nGenerous PTO, sick leave, and company holidays\nPaid winter break\n401(k) with immediate vesting\nFree catered lunches, coffee, snacks, and drinks at our Manassas headquarters\nFree on-site parking\nElectra is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. This position may be subject to ITAR requirements.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5624,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":12,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Life insurance","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Aircraft Manufacturing","General Aviation"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-05T10:34:03Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 3","filings_12m":3,"filings_prev_12m":1,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":192500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-29T16:27:21+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":25,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.686,"p_room":0.36,"age_days":78,"expected_fill_days":40,"reasons":["conf:4","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-11-04T06:34:25Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":215000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/electra-autonomy-chief-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/electra-autonomy-chief-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-04T11:55:57Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":17873,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-05T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":93694},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=93694"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Felectra-autonomy-chief-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Felectra-autonomy-chief-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Felectra-autonomy-chief-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/electra-autonomy-chief-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Felectra-autonomy-chief-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":242614}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"electra.aero","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":242614},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}