Senior Systems Design Engineer UAS

This Job Reports to Tyler, Texas (East Texas)

Senior Systems Design Engineer UAS - Job Description

About the Position:

SmartDrone, founded in 2020 in the commercial drone space is gaining traction, with market-validated technology, and an experienced team for you to join at the ground floor. We focus on developing automated aerial digitization solutions. Data from an array of sensors is processed onboard to produce digitized models for various commercial and industrial uses. SmartDrone is actively engaging the market with the SmartDrone Discovery, focusing on addressing the market for rapid data collection and accurate digitization.

As Senior Systems Design Engineer, you will employ your firm understanding of the systems engineering lifecycle to visualize systems functionality through validation of the SmartDrone system. While partnering with the CEO and Product Manager, you will apply voice of the customer to system and module level requirements while optimizing system performance and interfaces across functional modules. You will be the key lead in the development of test and validation procedures and execution of the operational SmartDrone system.

You will be exposed to an array of technical challenges where you can apply your knowledge of drones, robotics, and aerospace to learning new skills and solving practical problems. In this role, you will support the documentation, scope writing, specification writing, testing criteria, development, hardware development, software and hardware integration, bench testing, field testing, and validation of a new and improved version of our UAS.

The ideal candidate must have an interest in all aspects of the development and rigorous testing of unique robotic systems, specifically drones and UAS. The position will require practical hands-on development and testing, including laboratory and in-field analysis and troubleshooting. The successful candidate must be flexible and willing to tackle any aspect of a system as well as work tightly with a small close-knit team.

Because we are a scrappy startup, we are looking for someone to partner closely with our Product
Management and CEO to guide the organization through bursts of rapid growth. You will need to be versatile, a quick learner, have an impeccable eye for detail, and be willing to roll up your sleeves every day. You will also need to be capable of putting solid analyses in the hands of your business partners at work with succinct recommendations for action. Being successful in this role will require a driven individual, who prioritizes critical thinking, and who strives for continuous improvement.

Essential Functions:

• Comfortable and excited to build our requirement writing, validation testing and procedures, and more from scratch using industry standard best practices.

• Spearhead system specification development, creation and enforcement of interface control documents, system risk management, and system configuration management

• Perform hardware/software requirements definition, management, verification, and validation.
• Develop test architecture and execute test and validation system through verification and qualification to system requirements.
• Document a verification process and responsible for verifying all requirements are met using the approved verification method, documenting verification results.
• Complete tradeoffs analysis and supplier market research finding suitable alternate parts or alternate vendors for critical components.

• Broad experience across all subsystems from requirement elicitation, traceability, and ensuring that the design meets or exceeds all requirements.
• Work closely with engineers, and collaborate with our mechanical, electrical, software, engineers in planning, designing, manufacturing, and testing of systems to ensure system software and hardware requirements are traced to the design and formally verified/validated.

Desired Skills:

• Has experience with designing, developing, testing, and operating UAS.
• Familiarity with ArduPilot and PX4 based Flight Controllers, PID tuning, experimental testing, endurance testing, analyzing flight logs, GPS/Compass logs.
• Has an interest and/or experience with unmanned systems or satellite systems and have a vision for the future of these systems.
• Familiarity with common UAV ground control software and interfaces, such as QGroundControl and MAVLink
• Experience with various sensors such as thermal IR, multi-spectral cameras, and LiDAR
• Experience with C++, Python, Matlab, ROS (Robot OS)
• Familiarity with 3D CAD packages, specifically SolidWorks
• Familiarity with hardware prototyping skills including soldering, 3D printing, etc.
• Part 107 Certification
• Experience with Microsoft Office products
• Superior written and oral communication skills

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree or greater in a relevant field such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, robotics engineering, systems engineering etc. Eight or more years of professional work experience is desired.

The following skills are expected, though applicants are not required to have every skill listed:

• Desired 8 years’ experience in requirements development, design, implementation, integration, test, and validation of aerospace, UAS, or robotics related technical systems.

• Desired 5 years of system level design experience in which the applicant has been involved in the design and integration of complex aerospace, UAS, or robotics hardware/software systems, the definition of multiple interfaces, and been involved in the trades of multiple solution options

• Experience with field testing of systems and sub-systems
• Ability to travel 5-10% of the time to perform voice of customer and also to perform test flights and product validation.
• U.S. citizen

Supervisory Responsibility: This position has supervisory responsibilities but is not a management position. You are an active doer!

Part 107 Certification: Company paid professional development, all employees are required to study and eventually test / earn their Pt. 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. A candidate who already has their certificate will be preferred because they can hit the ground running with test flying and validation.

Seniority Level: High-Level, Experienced Professional Manager

Employment Type: Full-time

Relocation: Offered

Location: Tyler, Texas

Industry Background: Semiconductor, Consumer electronics, Manufacturing, Sensors, Automation &
Control, UAS, UAV, Drone, LiDar, Photogrammetry, GPS,

Salary: $90 - $120K Dependent on Experience

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $90,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Relocation assistance
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• On call

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Work Location:

• One location

Company's website:

• www.smartdrone.us

Benefit Conditions:

• Waiting period may apply
• Only full-time employees eligible