Engineering Manager, Advanced Systems Engineering

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a world leader in proven, reliable remotely piloted aircraft and tactical reconnaissance radars, as well as advanced high-resolution surveillance systems.

The Research & Design (R&D) Engineering organization at GA-ASI has recently established a new engineering department called System Development & Integration (SD&I) Engineering, and we are hiring! The SD&I Department is comprised of engineering leaders working as system engineers, integration engineers, sub-IPT leads, IPT leads, and/or Chief Engineers who use their previous detailed design, integration, and/or test experience as a foundation for these wider in breadth roles at the system level. The main objective for these roles is to guide and lead detail design engineers in the other engineering design departments in R&D Engineering during next generation aircraft development efforts at GA-ASI.

This position reports to the head of the SD&I Engineering Department. Successful candidates will be capable of leading a team of system engineers responsible for guiding and coordinating detailed design engineers across multiple disciplines, defining pragmatic system engineering approaches that leverage Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) tools alongside traditional methods and discipline-specific tools, as well as establishing integration strategies between MBSE tools, physics-based models, code-generating platforms, and PLM systems. The successful candidate will have 10+ years of engineering experience including 7-10 years in design, integration, or test in one of the primary aerospace disciplines (flight sciences, mechanical systems, electrical/avionics, propulsion, software, airframe structures, etc.) followed by a transition into system engineering. This leader will balance technical rigor with practical program execution and value outcomes over methodological purity.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and Team Management

• Leads, mentors, and develops a team of system engineers supporting complex aerospace programs

• Recruits, retains, and develops engineering talent

• Conducts performance reviews and career development planning

• Manages resource allocation, workload distribution, and technical staffing

• Fosters collaboration across engineering disciplines including flight sciences, mechanical systems, electrical/avionics, propulsion, software, and airframe structures

• Provides direction to system engineering and technical staff

• Represents system engineering in program reviews, customer engagements, and internal leadership meetings

System Engineering Strategy and Process

• Defines and implements system engineering processes, standards, and best practices that balance rigor with practicality and program needs

• Establishes a balanced system engineering approach that leverages MBSE tools (e.g., Cameo, MagicDraw, etc.) alongside traditional methods and discipline-specific environments

• Defines integration strategies between MBSE tools, physics-based analysis models, code-generating platforms (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink, Stateflow), and PLM systems (e.g., Teamcenter)

• Deploys the right tools and methods for specific engineering problems without dogmatic adherence to any single methodology

• Sets technical direction and priorities aligned with program objectives and organizational strategy

System Engineering Execution

• Understands systems engineering across multiple disciplines and leads development of behavioral and functional capabilities at the system level

• Creates, analyzes and interprets requirements at the system level, decomposes and flows down to lower-level specifications

• Oversees system architecture development, trade studies, and interface definition and control

• Conducts trade studies and other analyses to inform requirements flowed down to detailed design engineering departments

• Drives requirements definition, decomposition, allocation, and traceability across system and subsystem levels

• Evaluates and guides the development of detailed designs to ensure system-level requirements are met

• Ensures proper configuration management and change control across the system engineering lifecycle

• Oversees verification and validation planning, including test integration and system-level acceptance criteria

• Supports risk identification, analysis, and mitigation at the system level

Technical Contribution and Problem Solving

• Applies domain expertise from aerospace design, integration, or test to inform system-level decisions

• Devises new approaches to resolve unusual or complex engineering problems

• Evaluates trade-offs between subsystem performance, integration complexity, cost, schedule, and risk

• Provides technical guidance to system engineers and hardware/software design engineering teams

• Analyzes and troubleshoots systems by utilizing standard engineering principles

• Troubleshoots conflicting design/development requirements, difficult coordination requirements, and special material requirements

• Reviews system requirements, interface control documents, system models, and verification plans

• Supports technical problem resolution and root cause analysis for system-level issues

Airworthiness and Standards

• Understands military aircraft airworthiness standards and is adept at analyzing airworthiness artifacts to determine if compliance is demonstrated

• Ensures system engineering activities support military airworthiness or similar regulatory processes as required

Coordination and Communication

• Provides technical coordination of vendors/suppliers as required

• Works closely with program management, engineering leads, operations, and other stakeholders

• Coordinates with suppliers, subcontractors, and customers on system requirements and interfaces

• Provides documentation and makes technical presentations as required

• Communicates technical concepts, system architecture, and engineering strategies to diverse audiences

• Leads or is a key stakeholder in Conceptual Design Reviews, SFR, SRR, PDR, CDR and Test Readiness Reviews for assigned scope of work

• Supports proposal development, technical presentations, and customer engagements as needed

Compliance and Safety

• Maintains the strict confidentiality of sensitive information

• Observes all laws, regulations and other applicable obligations wherever and whenever business is conducted on behalf of the Company

• Works in a safe manner in accordance with established operating procedures and practices

Additional Responsibilities

• Performs other duties as assigned

We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply.