Senior Airspace Integration Systems Engineer

Company Overview

Joby Advanced Development 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.

Joby Aviation’s Advanced Development team is looking for a passionate Airspace Integration Systems Engineer to join our growing team. This is a position that provides the engineer a chance to interact with many of the key teams and disciplines within the company. The Engineer will provide technical guidance and coordination across the Autonomy Systems as well as our flight test team and certification team. This role owns airspace integration for the autonomy system end-to-end — from architecture and requirements through development, certification, and entry into service.

This position requires a solid understanding of aircraft systems, system development, and industry specific certification 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 both within Avionics and 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.

Joby is seeking an experienced systems engineer to work on the development of complex hardware and software-intensive autonomous systems. You will be part of a high-energy, collaborative team aimed at taking the Joby autonomy product from proof-of-concept through commercial certification for current and future Joby projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead airspace integration analysis for autonomous aircraft systems, developing and executing strategies to safely integrate unmanned and autonomous platforms into the National Airspace System (NAS) in compliance with FAA regulations and standards.

• Develop and validate Concept of Operations (ConOps) and system safety cases for autonomous flight operations, including detect-and-avoid (DAA), command-and-control (C2) link performance, and contingency management procedures.

• Collaborate with FAA and regulatory stakeholders to support certification activities, including participation in rulemaking committees, waiver/exemption applications, and Type Certificate or Airworthiness approval processes for autonomous systems.

• Design and analyze airspace integration requirements, including separation standards, sense-and-avoid performance, communication/navigation/surveillance (CNS) architecture, and interoperability with Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems such as UTM/UAM frameworks.

• Conduct modeling, simulation, and flight test support to evaluate autonomous system performance against safety, reliability, and airspace integration requirements, translating results into system design recommendations.

• Interface cross-functionally with systems engineering, software, avionics, and safety teams to ensure autonomy architecture, sensor suites, and fail-safe behaviors meet NAS integration and certification requirements throughout the product lifecycle.

• Author technical documentation and standards compliance artifacts (e.g., safety assessments, hazard analyses, requirements traceability matrices) supporting internal reviews and regulatory submission.

• Ensure that all systems being developed are coordinated and balanced to function as a cohesive whole

• Define and conduct trade studies and functional analyses

• Develop, validate, and verify system requirements in partnership with the software, hardware, and guidance, control and navigation teams.

• Define and analyze the system architecture

• Plan and execute system test plans in software and hardware in the loop simulations

• Identify and manage technical risk

• Collaborate with other engineers (hardware, software, safety) to track and analyze system progress

• Engage and manage vendors on key components

• Guide and mentor junior engineers

Required

• 5+ years of relevant industry experience
• Professional systems engineering experience, preferably in aerospace and/or autonomy
• Effective at working in a multidisciplinary team and communicating across stakeholders
• Ability to work in a fast-pace environment
• Thorough understanding of systems engineering concepts and methods
• MS/PhD in engineering

Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $161,400 - $194,900/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.