Job DescriptionGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), is a world leader in Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV), autonomy, AI-solutions, defense technologies, and advanced sensing capabilities. With more than eight million flight hours, GA-ASI is committed to rapidly delivering disruptive and advanced autonomous aircraft, end-to-end mission solutions, and cutting-edge technologies at scale to ensure the nation maintains strategic advantages through ISR and Air Dominance in contested environments.
The Agile Mission Systems (AMS) at GA-ASI in San Diego, CA is a growing center of excellence seeking high-performing technical contributors, unique talent, and future leaders in the Project Engineering (PE) role. Through the PE role, this candidate will be responsible for leading Air Dominance combat solutions providing end-to-end missionization, closing complex kill chains, and reinforced autonomous solutions to ensure UCAV air dominance in sophisticated air-to-air engagements. Additionally, this candidate will lead strategic objectives, influence multi-level business strategies, resolve critical mission gaps, and drive missionized architectures to achieve disruptive tactical advantages and effects on adversarial competition. This candidate’s contributions will span across multiple UAS platforms to include; Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), Longshot, a variety of Small UAS, Expendable UAS, NexGen ISR, and Legacy Platform variants such as MQ-1 & MQ-9A/B.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:- Project Engineering: lead multi-disciplinary teams, innovate, design, integrate, test, qualify, and rapidly field advanced technologies and mission systems onto autonomous UCAV.
- Fighter Expertise: Leverages 4th or 5th Gen Fighter experience to form air-to-air tactics, maneuvers, engagements, and define doctrine for autonomous air dominance initiatives across multiple UCAV platforms.
- Simulation Environment: leverages fighter-to-fighter expertise to aid in the design realistic engagement scenarios for autonomous agent training & development, and lay down frameworks for complex simulation environments. Provides recommendations and trades on UCAV tactics to increase air dominance and successful mission outcomes.
- Mission Architect: Drives selection of advanced technology, leads end-to-end mission systems architecture focused on stitching together systems-of-systems, resolving complex kill chains, and closing critical mission gaps for air dominance initiatives across multiple UCAV platforms.
- Develop Artifacts: create specifications block diagrams, system interconnect diagrams, and define wire interfaces and ICDs for UCAV data link communication systems.
- Test & Evaluate: Configure, integrate, simulate, test, and evaluate tactical data link networks and topologies.
- Sub-K Management: leads subcontractor management through internal development teams to define subsystems requirements, selection of advanced technology hardware & software, and drive maturation of mission system to platform integration & test.
- Team Leadership: Lead Functional Engineering teams, ensuring alignment with business and strategic objectives, and allocating technical resources to achieve stated and program objectives.
- Collaboration: Foster a collaborative environment and build consensus for technical solutions between GA functional engineering departments, program management, external GA P&Ls, and customer stakeholders.
- Program Execution: Lead diverse multi-functional engineering teams to meet critical program milestones and successfully execute programs within defined cost and schedule parameters. Establish and maintain consistent team expectations, ensure resources and skillsets are available to support technical work products.
- Customer Engagement: Represent programs as the engineering lead, ensuring consistent and appropriate messaging to external customer stakeholders, PoR representatives across the DoD, industry partners, subcontractors, and senior internal/executive stakeholders.
- Proposals: Support engineering estimates and proposals in response to customer and leadership directives.
- Technical Reviews: Perform system analysis, conduct trade studies, author technical white papers, and generate customer technical data packages. Complete, document, and present System Requirements Reviews (SRR), Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), and Critical Design Reviews (CDR).
We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply.
- Typically requires a bachelors degree, masters degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience as follows; fifteen or more years of experience with a bachelors degree, thirteen or more years of experience with a masters degree, or ten or more years with a PhD. May substitute equivalent engineering experience in lieu of education.
- Former military fighter pilot or weapon systems officer with >1000 hrs in 4th or 5th Generation platform.
- Graduate of recognized Test Pilot School is a plus (USNTPS, USAFTPS, NTPS).
- Proven ability to understand new concepts quickly and apply them in a dynamic work environment.
- Demonstrates technical expertise in the application of engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice as well as project management and leadership skills including organizing, planning, scheduling, and coordinating workloads to meet established deadlines or milestones.
- Experience in developing and integrating hardware and software with various engineering disciplines, including Mechanical, Electrical, RF, Cyber, Autonomy, AI/ML, and Software.
- Direct Technical expertise and experience with more than one of the following; Link 16, TTNT, UHF, VHF, IFF-T/I, SATCOM, Starshield, LPI/LPD waveforms, Encrypted Comms, and Next-Generation data link communication networks.
- Experience in one or more of the following technologies: Multi-Mode Radars, EO/IR systems, Advanced IRST, Electronic Warfare systems, Multi-INT systems, Countermeasures, Communications, Tactical Datalinks, Automation, Autonomy & Artificial Intelligence (A3I), HMI/UI, Cybersecurity, Software Architectures, Open Architectures and Standards (AMS GRA, OMS, FACE, STANAG), Networking, Modeling & Simulation.
- Product Management, Proposal Development, Basis of Estimation, Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS); Commercial and/or DoD Product development experience.
- Skills:
- Ability to resolve complex technical problems.
- Strong leadership and team management skills.
- Effective communication skills with the ability to build enterprise relationships and manage customer expectations.
- Must be customer-focused, able to work independently and in a team environment.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Security Clearance required (up to a TS/SCI).
