Principal System Safety Engineer

Principal System Safety Engineer

About Electra:

At Electra, we're pioneering sustainable aviation by developing hybrid-electric Ultra Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft designed to transform regional air mobility, by making air travel more efficient, quieter, and environmentally friendly. Able to operate from soccer field-sized spaces, our Ultra Short unlocks a new era of aviation through what we call Direct Aviation - the next level of connectivity bringing air travel closer to where we live, work, and play. Headquartered in Northern Virginia, with additional locations in Switzerland, we're building a diverse team of global professionals passionate about redefining the future of aviation.

Position Overview:

Electra is seeking a Principal System Safety Engineer to ensure safety and reliability of aircraft systems throughout their lifecycle, from design to operation, for Electra's EL9 Ultra Short aircraft. This role will focus on conducting safety analysis and risk assessments, defining safety-critical requirements, ensuring compliance with safety standards, and developing system safety documentation. This is an incredible opportunity to make a direct impact on a cutting-edge development program.

Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions:

• Conduct safety analyses such as failure hazard assessments (FHA), system safety assessments (SSA), fault tree analysis (FTA), and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). Evaluate the severity and likelihood of hazards, assess risks, and define risk mitigation measures.

• Define safety-critical requirements for aircraft systems, working closely with design engineers to ensure safety considerations are incorporated into the system design.

• Develop and maintain company and program-level safety documentation, including system safety program plans, safety assessment reports, safety analysis reports, and hazard logs.

• Provide clear safety analysis reports to stakeholders (including regulatory bodies) to support certification and operational approval.

• Ensure compliance with national and international aviation safety standards, including Safety of Aircraft Systems (DO-178C, DO-254) and ARP 4754A (Guidelines for the development of civil aircraft and systems).

• Participate in design reviews to evaluate safety-critical aspects of the aircraft systems and provide recommendations for design improvements, ensuring that safety issues identified during the design phase are addressed and tracked through implementation.

• Identify potential failure modes for aircraft systems and their impacts on overall safety, working with the appropriate engineering disciplines to define and implement mitigation strategies (e.g., redundancy, fault tolerance).

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams consisting of engineering, operations, program leadership, suppliers and certification leads, to ensure safety considerations are integrated into all aspects of aircraft design and operations.

• Mentor junior and mid-level engineers, fostering their technical and professional growth while ensuring that best engineering practices are followed.

• Provide safety-related training to engineering teams, ensuring they understand system safety principles and practices.

• Promote a safety culture within the engineering organization.

• Stay up to date with changes in aviation safety regulations, standards, and best practices.

• Other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in an Engineering discipline with at least 12 years of relevant experience (or an equivalent combination of education and experience)

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Experience with aircraft systems engineering, with a strong focus on safety-related roles.

• Experience in performing safety analyses such as Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), System Safety Assessments (SSA), and other safety-related techniques.

• Practical experience with safety-critical systems in both development and operational settings.

• Strong knowledge of reliability engineering and risk management principles.

• Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional, team-oriented environment.

• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.

Desired Skills and Qualifications:

• In-depth experience with safety certification processes on a FAA Part 23 aircraft certification program.

• Exposure to full life-cycle development of aircraft systems, from initial design and analysis to testing, certification, and operational monitoring.

• Private pilot certificate.

• Expert-level understanding of system safety processes, procedures, and analytical methods.

Location:

• Headquarters in Manassas, VA.  To encourage close collaboration, this position is strongly preferred to be on-site.

Travel: <25%