Systems Engineer. Aircraft Software

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and the most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming, as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results.

The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars, and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic.

Swarm Aero is building large, autonomous, swarming UAS for operations at scale in contested environments. Our aircraft are complex platforms that will operate at the edge of what's possible in non-segregated airspace with high levels of automation. We need a Software Systems Engineer who can support the software that makes it work reliably and robustly.

What You'll Do

Lead implementation of software standards, process, and development approaches

Maintain and refine the software system architecture

Derive software requirements from the functional decomposition of aircraft subsystems

Define clean interfaces for software interoperability

Work closely with design engineers in propulsion, avionics, and flight control

Produce and manage verification artifacts for requirements traceability

Participate in design reviews to drive architecture decisions that balance performance, risk, schedule, and complexity constraints

Support hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and software-in-the-loop (SIL) integration testing including investigation and resolution of anomalies

Coordinate with ground and flight test teams to define software verification plans

Identify, track, and mitigate technical risk across the program lifecycle, escalating issues with data-driven recommendations

Contribute to airworthiness and flight authorization documentation

What We're Looking For

7+ years of experience in systems engineering on aerospace, defense, or UAS platforms with a focus on software

Strong foundation in systems engineering principles and practices

Ability to write clear, verifiable, and testable requirements using industry-standard patterns

Familiarity with authoring and maintaining requirements using modern digital tools (e.g. Jama, Polarion, JIRA, etc.)

Expertise in software development and verification activities for civil or military aircraft

Experience with formal methods for verification and validation (e.g. DO-333)

Experience with software development standards for civil aviation (e.g. DO-178, DO-254)

Experience with software aspects of military safety standards and handbooks (e.g. MIL-STD-882, JSSSEH)

Ability to obtain US Government clearance required

Nice to Have

Background in flight control, avionics, or propulsion subsystem integration

Experience with ARP4754 and ARP4761

Exposure to defense programs, military airworthiness, or flight authorization processes including MIL-HDBK-516

Active security clearance

ITAR requirement

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Swarm Aero is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse backgrounds and experiences and make employment decisions without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability.

What We Offer

Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company

Competitive base salary commensurate with experience

Medical, dental, vision, and 401k

PTO and paid sick leave

Monthly wellness stipend

Daily catered lunch (office)

Paid parental leave

Direct impact on a critical national security mission

A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems