System Engineer

About Aergility

Aergility is a small aerospace startup maturing from R&D to manufacturing. We develop heavy-lift and surveillance VTOL drones for demanding domestic and international markets, including defense and contested logistics missions. We move fast, hold high standards, and expect every team member to own their work from concept through delivery.

We are looking for a mid-career Systems Engineer to serve as a technical integrator and program contributor across our unmanned aircraft product lines. You will work at the intersection of vehicle design, mission systems, and hardware integration—helping translate requirements into hardware, tracking technical progress, and supporting the engineering team as we scale toward production. This role requires both hands-on systems engineering depth and the organizational discipline to manage schedules, risks, and stakeholder communication.

• Develop and own the Verification & Validation (V&V) plan; define test methods, success criteria, and traceability from requirements to test results for each program phase, across vehicle and payload subsystems
• Create, mature, and maintain process and product documentation and configuration management as the architecture evolves from prototype to production
• Lead integration planning and support software- and hardware-in-the-loop testing, ground testing, and envelope expansion flight testing; author test plans, procedures, and anomaly reports
• Perform trade studies to inform design decisions across propulsion, avionics and autonomy, structures, and mission payloads; document trade rationale and present recommendations to technical leadership
• Lead or contribute to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) efforts; develop and maintain system architecture models that serve as the authoritative source for interface definitions and behavior descriptions
• Maintain a program-level technical risk register; facilitate risk review boards and drive mitigation actions to closure
• Conduct and document failure mode and effects analyses (FMEA) and hazard analyses in support of system safety per MIL-STD-882 or equivalent

• Present at formal program reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR), monthly program reviews, and customer briefings
• Coordinate with suppliers, subcontractors, and manufacturing partners on technical requirements and deliverables
• Support proposal efforts including SOWs, technical volumes, and cost structures for new domestic and international business opportunities
• Lead progress reporting for government-funded programs (SBIR, DoD contracts)

• Work closely with mechanical, electrical, software, and aerospace engineers in a small-team environment where role boundaries are intentionally fluid
• Support future manufacturing engineering staff to transition designs from development and MVP to pre-production and LRIP
• Interface with FAA, DoD program offices, and international partners as required

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field
• 7 – 15 years of experience in systems engineering, with at least 5 years supporting hardware development programs
• Proven ability to lead system integration efforts across multidisciplinary teams, including mechanical, electrical, software, and avionics
• Experience managing project schedules, technical risk, and stakeholder communication on programs of moderate-to-significant scope
• Comfortable authoring and presenting at formal program reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR) and interfacing with government customers or prime contractors
• Direct experience with UAV development and qualification testing, including ground test campaigns, envelope expansion, and flight test execution
• Familiarity with UAV test planning documentation: test plans, test procedures, success criteria, and anomaly reporting
• U.S. citizenship

• Experience with rotary-wing or VTOL UAS platforms, particularly ISR, heavy-lift or multi-rotor configurations
• Background in avionics integration, autonomy hardware and software, or mission payload systems
• Familiarity with…