Aircraft Systems Safety Engineer

About Us

We’re a combat-tested group of engineers, operators, and entrepreneurs who believe America’s edge depends on autonomous airpower that’s trusted and deployable today not in 2040. Backed by tier-one investors, we’ve secured the runway - financial, regulatory, and literal - to move at startup speed while tackling a national-security mission that matters. We’ve structured the company for radical ownership: no silos, no “systems integrator” overhead, just tightly knit mission-focused IPTs that live and breathe the hardware and code they ship.

If you thrive where hard-tech ambition meets national-security urgency, you’ll build faster here than anywhere else. Let’s get after it.

Culture That Ships

• Strong Core Values, Startup Execution. Integrity, Service Before Self, Excellence, Honor, Courage, Commitment—powered by a bias for action and a “figure it out” mindset.
• Self-Starters Only. You’ll have clear objectives, a blank sheet of paper, and the trust (plus capital) to move fast. Bureaucracy stays out of your way.
• One Team, No Tourists. Whether you’re tuning a control law at 2 a.m. or heat-treating a Ti-6Al-4V spar, everyone sweats the details. We celebrate wins together and own failures together.

What’s In It for You

• Mission With a Pulse. Every line of code, bracket, or test you deliver expands the toolbox of the warfighter on Day 1 of a conflict.
• Resources Without Red Tape. VC speed + DoD customer pull: access to test ranges, flight hours, and operator feedback while retaining startup agility.
• Career-Defining Upside. Significant equity, best-in-class benefits, and the chance to see your product deliver in months, not decades.

About the Role

As a key early member of our Engineering Organization, you will architect and execute the system safety and certification pathways for our emerging technology unmanned utility aircraft. This is a hands-on role where you will shape safety processes, define product-level safety strategy, and partner directly with head of certification, founders, engineering leads, and regulators. You will help the company from the perspective of system safety compliance in support of experimental certificate of airworthiness and eventual Type Certification roadmap.

What You’ll Do

• Build the system safety function from the ground up, including safety processes, templates, and review boards.
• Perform and collaborate with internal stakeholders to educate on system safety assessments and analyses in accordance with ARP4761 & ARP4754A, including but not limited to Functional Hazard Assessments (FHAs), Preliminary System Safety Assessments (PSSAs), System Safety Assessments (SSAs), Fault Tree Analyses (FTAs), Common Mode Analyses (CMAs) and turn them into actionable engineering requirements.
  Review design and development documentation for safety critical evaluation.
• Develop DAL allocations and guide software/hardware teams on DO-178C and DO-254 impacts.
• Partner directly with flight test, avionics, autonomy, mechanical, electrical engineering teams to embed safety into early designs.
• Identify safety-critical gaps early and propose pragmatic, cert-compliant mitigations.
• Support internal safety reviews including safety review board and cross-team alignment.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in aerospace/mechanical/electrical engineering
• Performed system safety assessments and analyses in accordance with ARP4761, ARP4754A, MIL-STD-882E, including but not limited to FHAs, PSSAs, SSAs, FTAs, CMAs
• 10+ years of experience leading compliance with CFR Part 25.1301, 25.1309 or equivalent in CFR Part 23/29 requirements working directly with the FAA and/or ODA on Type Certification projects. 

Bonus Points

• FAA DER and/or E-UM Ticket in applicable Airworthiness Standards
• Experience in end-to-end UAS development, from design through certification (experimental SAC/Part 107)

Why You’ll Love Working Here (Compensation and Benefits)

Base Salary: $155,000 to 235,000 USD

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Atropos's total compensation package. Additionally, Atropos offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:

• Platinum Healthcare Benefits: Atropos offers comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans with 100% employer-paid premiums and little to no cost to you
• Basic Life/AD&D and long-term disability insurance 100% covered by Atropos, plus the option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your dependents
• Unlimited PTO, with minimum of 15 days enforced
• 20 weeks of paid Caregiver & Wellness Leave to care for a family member, bond with your baby, or tend to your own medical condition
• Family Planning & Parenting Support: Fertility (eg, IVF, preservation), adoption, and gestational carrier coverage with additional benefits and resources to provide support from planning to parenting
• Mental Health Resources: We provide free mental health resources 24/7 including therapy, life coaching, and more. Additional work-life services, such as free legal and financial support, available to you as well
• Tuition and professional development reimbursement for STEM, MBA, and licenses
• Daily Lunch catered 
• Company-funded child care stipend 
• Company-funded commuter benefits available based on your region.
• Relocation assistance (depending on role eligibility).
• 401(k) retirement savings plan - both a traditional and Roth 401(k). 6% employer matching contribution

The recruiter assigned to this role can share more information about the specific compensation and benefit details associated with this role during the hiring process.

Atropos is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. The Atropos team is made up of incredibly talented and unique individuals. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws. We actively encourage members of recognized minorities, women, Veterans, and those with disabilities to apply, and we work to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all applicants throughout the interview process. If you are someone who is interested in disrupting the way the Department of Defense buys and operates unmanned weapon systems, please apply!