Autonomous Aircraft Systems Engineering Manager

Autonomous Aircraft Systems Engineering Manager

Job Locations US-CA-Santa Cruz

ID 2026-5448 Category Flight Research Type Regular Full-Time

Company Overview Joby Flight Research designs, develops, and flight-tests novel aircraft using a software-first autonomy approach. We build and deploy autonomy, perception, planning, and radar systems across conventional, electric, and hydrogen-electric aircraft in both CTOL and VTOL configurations.

Overview At Joby, Systems Engineers manage the end-to-end design, integration, and execution of complex aerospace systems. They are responsible for translating mission objectives into technical requirements, ensuring seamless collaboration between hardware and software teams, balancing competing constraints (cost, schedule, and performance), and validating all parts safely achieve the mission.

The Advanced Development team is looking for a passionate Autonomous Aircraft Systems Engineering Manager to join our growing team. As part of the Autonomous Aircraft Systems Engineering team, you will manage a group of systems engineers supporting Joby’s autonomous programs. This position provides the engineer a chance to interact with many of the key teams and disciplines across the company. You will provide technical guidance and coordination across the Autonomous Aircraft’s Systems, from early concept development through system-level V&V. The role will be involved in defining high level requirements in alignment with stakeholder objectives, targeted decomposition of requirements in high risk areas, creating technology development roadmaps to increase TRL and reduce operational risk, defining key interfaces between systems, and generating V&V plans and test cases to verify requirements and validate the design.

The candidate is expected to take a leadership role in achieving supplemental type certifications (STCs) for electrical, mechanical, and software changes to our aircraft to enable them to fly autonomously in the national airspace. This will require a solid understanding of aircraft systems, system development, and industry specific standards and processes.

This position requires enough background knowledge and a willingness to learn to enable one to understand the complex trade-offs involved in the system design across the aircraft systems as a whole. The most important traits at Joby are a positive attitude towards the project, strong work ethic, and being able to self-manage and learn new skills. Forward thinking and the ability to adapt quickly to a fast-paced environment are a must.

Responsibilities

• Requirements Management: Derive, allocate, and track technical requirements from top-level mission goals down to individual subsystems. Develop interface control documents (ICDs).

• System Architecture: Define and analyze the overall system layout, develop ConOps and evaluate their feasibility, and conduct trade studies to influence performance. Ensure all systems being developed are coordinated and balanced to function as a cohesive whole.

• Verification & Validation (V&V): Execute the V&V strategy across all systems, define and execute test plans, identify specific test cases, and collect verification data to satisfy the requirements.

• Risk Management: Identify technical risks, develop mitigation strategies, and execute plans to buy down target risks.

• Technical Leadership: Lead technical trade studies and functional analyses, define milestone success criteria, and support technical design reviews.

• SE Process: Develop and own the systems engineering process on flight programs

• Personnel Management: Provide mentorship and technical direction to a team of systems engineers

Required

• BS in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or a related field
• 10+ years of systems engineering experience developing safety-critical vehicles, preferably in aerospace and/or autonomy
• Thorough understanding of systems engineering concepts and methods
• Excellent interpersonal skills to effectively communicate with colleagues across a wide range of technical disciplines
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment

Desired

• MS/PhD in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or a related field
• Experience in digital flight control or fly-by-wire systems
• Familiarity with key aerospace development standards and guidance, such as ARP4754, DO-178C, DO-254, DO-160G, NPR 7123.1, and the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook
• Experience with MBSE and requirements management tools (e.g., Flow, Jama, Polarion, Cameo/MagicDraw)
• Clean-sheet aerospace development

Additional Information Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $191,400 - $300,000/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

Joby is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

This position must meet US export control compliance requirements, therefore a candidate must qualify as a “US Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15. “US Person” includes US Citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees, or asylees.

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