Principal Chief Engineer & System Architect

• 10+ years in integration, test engineering, verification/validation, or systems test for complex hardware/software products. \n

• Experience leading test engineers or multidisciplinary integration/test teams and building test capability. \n

• Demonstrated ownership of test strategy and evidence for integrated systems through field or operational deployment. \n

• Practical knowledge of HIL/SIL, instrumentation, automation, test design, requirements traceability, defect management, and root-cause analysis. \n

• Ability to provide objective technical findings and escalate verification gaps constructively to engineering leadership. \n

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• Lead risk-based system integration, verification, and validation planning across 2-3 active product lines. \n

• Translate system requirements, critical interfaces, failure modes, and operational scenarios into executable test coverage and acceptance criteria. \n

• Coordinate integration sequencing, test readiness, qualification evidence, and verification traceability with Chief Engineers and functional teams. \n

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Test Engineering and Infrastructure:

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• Build or strengthen SIL/HIL, automated regression, bench/lab integration, instrumentation, data capture, and representative field/flight-test practices as appropriate. \n

• Establish repeatable test procedures, defect tracking, reproducibility standards, and configuration control for test articles and environments. \n

• Lead test engineering personnel and coordinate distributed functional test contributors without duplicating all existing testing teams. \n

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Reliability and Independent Evidence:

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• Report objective verification results, open anomalies, residual risks, and coverage gaps; escalate unresolved concerns independently of schedule pressure. \n

• Drive failure analysis, root-cause investigation, corrective-action verification, and prevention of recurring integration escapes. \n

• Develop metrics for late-found defects, verification coverage, regression effectiveness, test reliability, and time to close critical anomalies. \n

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• UAS, aerospace, autonomy, embedded systems, defense, or robotics verification experience. \n

• Experience with ground/flight testing, qualification, safety-critical interfaces, and operationally representative environments. \n

• Experience building test infrastructure at a startup. \n

• Familiarity with FMEA, fault trees, environmental/EMI qualification, and manufacturing acceptance testing. \n

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What Success Looks Like

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• 30 days: map test assets, coverage gaps, recurring failures, and critical integration dependencies. \n

• 90 days: risk-based verification plan for each product and an agreed test readiness/evidence standard. \n

• 6 months: more repeatable integration tests, measurable coverage of critical interfaces, and faster defect diagnosis. \n

• 12 months: fewer late-stage defects and recurring failures; objective, auditable readiness evidence for major milestones.