Principal Engineer - System (Hybrid)

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Principal Systems Engineer - Avionics, CNS & Safety-Critical Systems

Collins Aerospace | RTX

Lead the Engineering. Shape the Future of Flight.

At RTX, the world’s largest aerospace and defense company, approximately 185,000 innovators work together to solve some of the world’s most complex challenges. Through our three industry-leading businesses, advanced research, and world-class engineering capabilities, we are pushing the boundaries of science to connect and protect our world.

Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, is redefining aerospace through intelligent, technologically advanced solutions that make aviation safer, smarter, and more connected. Join our team and contribute to next-generation aerospace technologies that shape the future of flight.

The Opportunity

Are you ready to lead the development of advanced avionics systems that meet the highest standards of safety, reliability, and performance?

We are seeking an experienced Principal Systems Engineer - Communication, Navigation & Surveillance (CNS) to drive systems engineering activities across the complete product development lifecycle. In this role, you will provide technical leadership, translate customer needs into robust system architectures, and guide the development, integration, verification, and certification of complex, safety-critical avionics solutions.

You will collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams, influence system-level design decisions, champion automation and engineering excellence, and mentor technical talent. Your expertise will help deliver reliable, certification-ready avionics systems that support the next generation of aerospace innovation.

If you thrive on solving complex engineering challenges and leading teams toward technical excellence, this is your opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

What You’ll Do

As a technical leader within our CNS engineering organization, you will:

• Drive end-to-end systems engineering: Lead the decomposition of customer requirements into clear, traceable system-, subsystem-, and component-level requirements.
• Provide technical leadership: Guide and mentor Systems Engineers developing complex CNS solutions, fostering collaboration, accountability, and engineering excellence.
• Architect safety-critical avionics systems: Define system architectures, functional decomposition, interfaces, and design documentation for advanced surveillance and avionics products, including systems requiring Design Assurance Level (DAL) A compliance.
• Lead requirements management: Establish, capture, analyze, trace, and manage system requirements using tools such as Jama and IBM DOORS.
• Shape integration and verification strategies: Develop comprehensive system integration, verification, and validation approaches, including test plans, procedures, execution strategies, and detailed test reports.
• Ensure compliance and certification readiness: Develop certification artifacts and support regulatory compliance activities aligned with applicable aerospace development and safety assessment standards.
• Leverage automation and digital engineering: Develop Python-based tools and automation solutions that improve engineering productivity, verification efficiency, and process consistency.
• Enable seamless system integration: Collaborate with software architects, hardware engineers, and cross-functional teams to deliver scalable, reliable, and sustainable system solutions.
• Apply industry-leading engineering standards: Drive adherence to ARP4754A/B, ARP4761, and applicable avionics communication and interface standards.
• Champion continuous improvement: Identify opportunities to optimize engineering processes, advance technical roadmaps, and strengthen organizational capabilities.
• Develop engineering talent: Mentor engineers, share technical expertise, and contribute to talent development, performance management, and a culture of continuous learning.

What You’ll Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electronics, Computer Engineering, or a related STEM discipline.
• 11-15 years of experience in avionics systems engineering, with demonstrated expertise in complex engineering environments.
• At least 8 years of experience across the complete Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC), including requirements development, architecture, design, implementation, integration, validation, and verification.
• At least 8 years of experience capturing and managing system requirements using Jama and/or IBM DOORS.
• At least 9 years of experience developing system architectures, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), functional decomposition, and system design documentation.
• At least 8 years of experience developing integration, verification, and validation strategies for safety-critical avionics systems.
• At least 8 years of experience working with avionics communication protocols and interfaces, including AFDX, ARINC 429, ARINC 615/615A, and Ethernet.
• At least 8 years of experience applying aerospace development and safety assessment guidelines, including ARP4754A/B and ARP4761.
• At least 6 years of experience supporting certification activities involving the FAA, certification authorities, or internal certification organizations.
• At least 8 years of experience working in Agile development environments using tools such as JIRA and Confluence.
• At least 6 years of experience developing engineering automation tools using Python.
• Hands-on experience with engineering tools such as Jama, IBM DOORS, Git, Subversion, and RapiTest.
• Experience integrating hardware and software within complex avionics platforms.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, technical decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in one or more of the following areas will strengthen your profile:

• Avionics navigation products: Good to have 2-3 years of experience with navigation products, including radar altimeters and communication/navigation radio applications.
• Certification and compliance: At least 3 years of experience supporting Stages of Involvement (SOI) audits, certification reviews, and compliance evidence preparation.
• Aerospace certification standards: Working knowledge of RTCA DO-178, DO-160, DO-254, and DO-297.
• System integration and verification: At least 5 years of experience performing system integration and verification testing.
• Avionics performance standards: Experience with Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for avionics systems.
• Broader avionics expertise: Understanding of Communication, Navigation & Surveillance (CNS), Flight Management Systems (FMS), Flight Control Systems (FCS), and cockpit display systems.
• Technical leadership: Experience mentoring engineers, coordinating multidisciplinary teams, and driving technical decisions for complex aerospace products.

What Makes You Successful?

You will thrive in this role if you:

• Approach complex engineering challenges with a systems-thinking mindset and strong analytical judgment.
• Translate customer and stakeholder needs into clear requirements and robust technical solutions.
• Lead cross-functional teams through challenging design, integration, verification, and certification activities.
• Demonstrate exceptional attention to detail when developing safety-critical systems.
• Communicate technical concepts effectively and build alignment across engineering disciplines.
• Embrace innovation, automation, and continuous improvement to enhance engineering effectiveness.
• Enjoy mentoring others and raising the technical capabilities of the wider team.
• Remain focused on quality, safety, and customer success in a dynamic engineering environment.

Learn More & Apply Now

Please ensure the role type defined below is appropriate for your needs before applying to this role. This position is classified as:

Onsite: Employees who are working in Onsite roles will work primarily onsite. This includes all production and maintenance employees, as they are essential to the development of our products.

Hybrid: Employees who are working in Hybrid roles will work regularly both onsite and offsite. Ratio of time working onsite will be determined in partnership with your leader.

Remote: Employees who are working in Remote roles will work primarily offsite (from home). If you live within a reasonable commute of an RTX site with other colleagues you interact with, your manager will discuss whether there is a

degree of onsite presence associated with this role.

Candidates will learn more about role type and current site status throughout the recruiting process. For onsite and hybrid roles, commuting to and from the assigned site is the employee’s personal responsibility.

Requires advanced to expert knowledge of work area typically obtained through advanced education combined with experience.

May have broad knowledge of project management. Requires substantial knowledge of RTX projects, programs or systems in order to provide enhancements within job area.

Typically requires: A University Degree or equivalent experience and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience, or An Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 5 years experience

Engineering/Other Technical Positions: Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and a minimum of 8 years of prior relevant experience unless prohibited by local laws/regulations.

Why Join Collins Aerospace?

At Collins Aerospace, your work directly impacts millions of passengers and defense personnel worldwide. You'll collaborate with some of the industry's brightest minds to solve complex engineering challenges while advancing technologies that make aviation safer and more sustainable.

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits
• Group Health, Life & Personal Accident Insurance
• National Pension Scheme (NPS)
• 18 days annual vacation plus 12 days contingency leave
• Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)
• Car Lease Program
• Fuel & Maintenance reimbursement
• Driver wage support
• Meal vouchers
• Employee Scholar Program
• Flexible and supportive work environment
• Learning, leadership, and career growth opportunities
• Inclusive culture that values innovation and collaboration

Be Part of What's Next

At Collins Aerospace, we're not just building aerospace systems-we're redefining what's possible. If you're ready to work on technologies that shape the future of flight, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today and help us redefine aerospace

RTX adheres to the principles of equal employment. All qualified applications will be given careful consideration without regard to ethnicity, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

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