Senior Systems Engineer

Whelen Aviation Technologies (WAT) is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to help establish and grow a new Systems Engineering function within our organization. This is an opportunity for an experienced systems engineer to have a significant impact on how we develop, document, verify, and manage complex aviation products.

The Senior Systems Engineer will work across Electrical Engineering, Firmware, Mechanical Engineering, Test, Certifications and Product Management to establish and improve systems engineering practices throughout the product development lifecycle. This role will help guide engineering teams in requirements management, system architecture, traceability, verification and validation, and engineering processes.

The ideal candidate is someone who enjoys building processes, bringing structure to complex engineering problems, and working collaboratively with engineering teams. This person should be comfortable operating in a developing environment where the Systems Engineering function and processes are still being established.

What You'll Do in This Role

This position is an opportunity to build something new. WAT is establishing Systems Engineering as a dedicated engineering function, and this individual will help define what that function looks like and how it supports our engineering organization.

The successful candidate will help move WAT toward a more structured approach to requirements → architecture → design → implementation → verification → validation, while working closely with our existing engineering teams.

We are looking for someone who can both develop the process and work directly with engineers to make it practical and effective. The role will require a balance of technical knowledge, process development, communication, and leadership.

Success in This Role

Success will include:

• Establishing a consistent Systems Engineering process across WAT.
• Improving the quality and completeness of product and system requirements.
• Establishing effective requirements traceability.
• Helping engineering teams identify system-level gaps earlier in development.
• Improving alignment between requirements, design, and verification activities.
• Providing engineering teams with practical tools, templates, and guidance.
• Building Systems Engineering into WAT's overall product development process.
• Becoming a trusted technical resource for Engineering Leadership and development teams.

• Help establish and develop the Systems Engineering function within Whelen Aviation Technologies.
• Develop and implement processes for system requirements management, requirements traceability, change management, and verification/validation.
• Work with engineering teams to develop clear, complete, testable, and traceable system and product requirements.
• Establish and maintain requirements traceability from customer and system requirements through design, implementation, and verification.
• Help engineering teams define system-level requirements and allocate requirements to Electrical, Firmware, Mechanical, and other disciplines.
• Support development of system architectures, interfaces, functional decompositions, and system-level design documentation.
• Facilitate cross-functional discussions to identify system interfaces, dependencies, assumptions, and potential gaps early in the development process.
• Establish guidelines and best practices for requirements development and management.
• Work with project and engineering teams to ensure requirements are incorporated into project planning and development activities.
• Support verification and validation planning, including development of verification methods and acceptance criteria.
• Help establish and maintain traceability between requirements, design outputs, test procedures, and test results.
• Participate in design reviews and provide systems engineering guidance to development teams.
• Identify gaps, inconsistencies, and risks within system requirements and product definitions.
• Support engineering change management and assess the system-level impact of proposed design changes.
• Help develop and implement Systems Engineering templates, standards, processes, and training.
• Work with Engineering Leadership to establish appropriate systems engineering practices that can scale with the organization.
• Provide coaching and guidance to engineers on systems engineering principles and requirements management.
• Support the development of engineering metrics and processes to improve product quality, development efficiency, and requirements completeness.
• Support compliance with applicable aviation industry standards, customer requirements, and regulatory requirements.

• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of engineering experience, with experience in systems engineering, requirements engineering, product development, or a similar role.
• Experience developing and managing system and product requirements.
• Experience with requirements management and traceability tools.
• Strong understanding of the product development lifecycle and systems engineering processes.
• Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams.
• Ability to translate customer and system needs into clear, measurable engineering requirements.
• Strong technical documentation and communication skills.
• Ability to identify system-level interactions, interfaces, dependencies, and risks.
• Experience with verification and validation planning and execution.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to influence and guide engineering teams without direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the aviation, aerospace, automotive, transportation, or other safety-critical industries.
• Experience with DO-178C, DO-254, ARP4754A, ARP4761, or similar aviation development practices.
• Experience with functional safety, system safety, or safety-critical product development.
• Experience with Agile product development environments.
• Experience establishing a Systems Engineering organization or implementing systems engineering processes within an existing engineering organization.
• Experience with requirements management tools such as Jama, Polarion, IBM DOORS, or similar platforms.
• Familiarity with configuration management, change management, and product lifecycle management processes.
• Experience working with embedded systems involving hardware, firmware/software, and mechanical components.

Comply with the EH&S Policy and applicable regulatory and company EH&S rules and requirements

Report to supervision conditions or practices that are either unsafe or that may adversely impact the environment, to ensure prompt resolution of potential hazards

Attend scheduled EH&S training program

Actively support the organization’s efforts to meet or exceed EH&S goals and plans

Recommend improved EH&S practices

Must be able to communicate effectively with co-workers, supervisors, and third parties. This ability to communicate requires the employee to be conversant in English as the majority of our workforce and the third parties that we encounter only speak English.

The incumbent is responsible for complying with the policies in Whelen’s “Employee Handbook.”

Whelen Engineering is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sex, ancestry, citizenship status, mental or physical disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, veteran status, or military status.

This Job Description is to serve as a guide. It is intended to be flexible and will continue to evolve over time with business needs and demands and may be updated periodically and at the Company’s discretion.

Nothing in this position description changes or is intended to change the employment at-will relationship with the Company. Employment at-will means that an employee or the Company may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice.