Sr. System Engineer - Aerospace

Sr. Systems Engineer - Aerospace

Location: Syracuse, NY or Arlington, VA (Hybrid)

Position Summary: The FAA’s Brand‑New Air Traffic Control System and other initiatives related to Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Advanced Air Mobility are fueling the growth of Thales’ Airspace Mobility Solutions team. We are expanding our teams in Arlington, Virginia and Syracuse, New York and seeking talented individuals who want to be part of these ambitious initiatives shaping the future of aviation.

We are looking for people with a passion for aviation and ready to deliver innovative solutions built to the nation’s highest safety and security standards.

Thales is looking for a Sr. Systems Engineer Aerospace who serves as a recognized technical authority responsible for shaping, governing, and delivering advanced system solutions that address highly complex customer, operational, and stakeholder requirements and who establishes coherent, traceable, and certifiable system specifications that anchor solution development and ensure technical integrity from concept through qualification.

In this position, you will operate across the full systems engineering lifecycle to lead operational needs analysis, requirements engineering, system architecture and functional design, integration, verification, validation, and qualification (IVVQ), and apply rigorous systems engineering governance, methods, and best practices to manage complexity and mitigate risk. You will work in close partnership with the Product Design Authority, System Architecture, and IVVQ leadership to provide strategic technical leadership, resolve complex technical trade‑offs, lead the analysis and validation of critical system attributes including safety, security, human factors, reliability, and operational performance, and ensure solutions are safe, compliant, fit for operational use in regulated environments, aligned with customer expectations, contractual obligations, applicable standards, and program constraints, and delivered as robust, high‑quality, and certifiable system solutions that support customer success and long‑term product sustainability.

• US - CUI Regulatory Compliance Requirement – Must be a US Person as defined in applicable law.

• Serve as the technical authority for the analysis and interpretation of highly complex customer and operational needs, applying advanced systems engineering methods such as simulations, digital system models, trade studies, and prototyping to inform architectural and design decisions across the full lifecycle; and lead and govern the definition of mission objectives, functional concepts, system architectures, and requirements, in close partnership with the Product Design Authority (PDA), ensuring traceability, technical coherence, and alignment with customer, regulatory, and program constraints.
• Author, review, and approve comprehensive system specifications, engineering management plans, and activity allocations, providing clear technical direction and decision rationale to guide solution development and downstream engineering execution; and provide senior technical leadership in systems architecture and systems engineering management, shaping program‑level engineering strategies, resolving complex technical trade‑offs, and mentoring teams on best practices and methods.
• Oversee and direct the structured assembly, integration, and assessment of solution elements, ensuring rigorous evaluation of system interactions, emergent behavior, performance margins, and compliance with validated requirements; and own the planning, execution, and governance of system Integration, Verification, Validation, and Qualification (IVVQ) activities, ensuring completeness, technical rigor, and adherence to contractual, safety, and regulatory obligations.
• Champion and govern technical change management, evaluating impacts across architecture, requirements, certification, cost, and schedule; steering documentation updates; and providing authoritative guidance on implementation and acceptance.
• Provide authoritative evidence and technical justification that delivered solutions…