R&D System Safety Engineer - STATE COLLEGE, PA
Penn State University
State College, PAFull-time$106–231K/yrPosted 2mo agoStill listed today
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Job overview
Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory seeks a System Safety Engineer for its Systems Engineering Department in State College. The role supports undersea systems throughout their development lifecycle, performing safety analyses, identifying and mitigating hazards, and producing safety work products. The engineer collaborates with engineering teams, Navy counterparts, and government safety organizations. Higher-level positions lead safety efforts, mentor staff, and represent programs at technical and government reviews.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
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Full job description
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
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CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
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CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
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If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.
Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.
POSITION SPECIFICS We are searching for an experienced, motivated, and driven System Safety Engineer to join the Systems Engineering Department within the Undersea Systems Office at the Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) located fully on-site in State College, PA. Candidates should be comfortable working within the Department of Defense safety process and will be involved in the development of the next generation of undersea systems. The System Safety Engineer will operate across the entire lifecycle of undersea systems development, from concept formulation to design, build, and test. The candidate will develop in-depth knowledge of ARL-developed systems and will represent them within the safety community.
ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.
You will:
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Collaborate with Systems Engineering and Subsystem Design Teams to learn the design and operation of ARL systems
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Perform safety analyses as specified in MIL-STD-882E including Preliminary Hazard Analyses, Functional Hazard Analyses, Requirements Hazard Analyses, Subsystem Hazard Analyses, Software Safety Level of Rigor, etc.
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Assess engineering documents, data, and artifacts to ensure component and system level safety compliance; identify and mitigate potential and existing hazards
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Participate in anomaly investigations, failure review boards, and root cause/corrective action analyses
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Collaborate with internal and external team members and United States Navy (USN) counterparts in order to ensure delivery of a safe product
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Collaborate and maintain relationships within the community including sponsors, engineering teams, and program management
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Participate in System Safety Working Groups to ensure that all aspects of system safety are addressed and communicated throughout the program
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Communicate with government personnel including NOSSA (Naval Ordnance Safety Support Activity), the WSESRB (Weapon Systems Explosive Safety Review Board) and its constituent panels (FISTP, SSSTRP) and the Navy PHST center (Packaging, Handling, Shipping, Transportation) to identify and address requirements for safe shipping, handling and deployment of weapons systems
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Brief the WSESRB and its constituent panels at periodic formal engagements as well as less formal “Tech Assist” meetings.
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Brief program personnel including USN Program Manager(s), relevant Technical Warrant Holders, etc.
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The person in this role will have the capability to work independently with external government, program, and contractor counterparts to develop successful system safety programs
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Develop deliverable safety work products including System Safety Program Plans, Software System Safety Program Plans, Hazardous Material Management Plans, etc.
Additional responsibilities for higher level positions include:
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Lead system safety efforts across one or more undersea programs
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Lead team members in order to ensure the delivery of a safe product
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Mentor staff in the system safety process including development of work products
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Train additional staff in the System Safety process as required by ARL workload
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Represent program(s) with presentations, analyses, and reports at engineering review boards, technical interchange meetings, and government safety working groups
Required skills/experience areas include:
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System Safety Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field
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Effective at presenting in front of teams or groups, or creating conveying information to drive understanding, action, or decision
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Previous success with collaborations in a multi-disciplinary, team-oriented, culture
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Ability to obtain and maintain a government security clearance
Preferred skills/experience areas include:
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Familiarity with relevant engineering and safety standards
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Ability to conduct various safety analyses: Functional Hazard Analysis, Fault Trees, Failure Modes and Effects Analyses (FMEA), Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analyses (FMECA), Requirements Hazard Analysis, Software Level of Rigor Analyses, etc.
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Hardware circuit design and development
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Embedded software development
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Active government security clearance
Your working location will be located fully on-site in State College, PA.
MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS If filled as R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Senior Professional, this position requires: Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science 14+ years of relevant experience Required Certifications: None If filled as R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Advanced Professional, this position requires: Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science 5+ years of relevant experience Required Certifications: None If filled as R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Intermediate Professional, this position requires: Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science 2+ years of relevant experience Required Certifications: None
ARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Intel Community (IC).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our web site at www.arl.psu.edu.
BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.
Notice regarding employment at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL): Employees must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug testing program, and comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors. ARL operates in a secure information environment involving Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified information. Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply. SALARY & BENEFITS The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $105,900.00 - $231,000.00. Salary Structure - Information on Penn State's salary structure
Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page.
CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.
EEO IS THE LAW Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.
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How this job compares
Set against the 11,868 open Systems Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$106–231K/yr
- Pennsylvania median$99–178K/yr152 salary ranges
- US median$115–190K/yr8,798 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $168K, is 23% above the Pennsylvania median midpoint ($137K) — in the middle half of Systems Engineer salary ranges in Pennsylvania.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 213 open Systems Engineer jobs in Pennsylvania and 11,868 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Pennsylvania
- Lockheed Martin52 open
- Oracle13 open
- Westinghouse Electric Company9 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 2 years of experience — less than three in four Systems Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 9,801 postings).
- Education
- This posting asks for a bachelor's degree; 4,398 of the 11,868 open Systems Engineer jobs (37%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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