Senior Staff Engineer, Actuation Systems Architecture & Design (RX) (R6003)
Dallas · USD 173,760-260,640 / year · Onsite · Posted Sep 22, 2026
At a glance
- Workplace
- Onsite
- Location
- Dallas
- Salary
- USD 173,760-260,640 / year
About the role
- As a Senior Staff Engineer, you will take full technical ownership of actuation systems architecture, design, and integration for actuated systems and mechanisms on a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft.
- You will work from first principles to define requirements, make sound design decisions, and drive solutions through detailed design, integration, qualification, and production.
Responsibilities
- Lead the architecture, requirements definition, and detailed design of actuation systems across bay doors and other airframe mechanisms.
- Own actuator selection and sizing, sequencing, redundancy management, failure mode analysis, and interfaces with the mechanisms they actuate.
- Drive integration of actuation systems with control surfaces, weapons bay doors, and other vehicle mechanisms, including timing, load, sealing, and structural interface requirements.
- Own actuator power architecture and load-analysis interfaces with EPS, and heat-generation and heat-rejection interfaces with thermal management.
- Define, allocate, and own verification traceability for actuation system requirements with FCAS, EPS, thermal management, structures, and propulsion IPTs.
- Perform focused technology assessments when needed to resolve specific actuation design and integration risks.
- Define and execute qualification test plans per MIL-STD-810, using results to mature the design into production-ready hardware and support MIL-HDBK-516 Airworthiness Certification.
- Lead design-maturity and qualification-status reviews at SRR, PDR, and CDR.
Requirements
- US Citizens Only & Must have an Active Secret or higher clearance.
- 8 to 15 years in aircraft actuation systems design, with hands-on depth in electric actuation, including EMA or EHA, or centralized hydraulics and working knowledge of the other.
- B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Proven track record sourcing COTS/custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule, and assembling benchtop or vehicle-level test setups.
- Demonstrated ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.
- Demonstrated depth in actuator sizing, power and thermal interfaces, FMEA, redundancy management, and mechanical mechanism integration.
- Demonstrated experience leading multi-disciplinary actuation design and integration efforts with electrical power, thermal management, structures, and adjacent mechanical systems stakeholders.
- Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516 and MIL-STD-810 as applied to actuation and mechanical systems, and experience supporting SRR, PDR, and CDR on a DoD or fighter-class aircraft program.
Preferred qualifications
- Prior fighter or fighter-adjacent program experience, manned or unmanned.
- Experience developing electric actuation architectures for aircraft control surfaces or other mechanisms.
- Weapons bay mechanism or store separation-adjacent mechanical systems experience.
Benefits
- Bonus
- Benefits
- Equity
- Temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment for temporary employees)
Skills
- Actuation Systems Architecture
- Electric Actuation
- EMA
- EHA
- Centralized Hydraulics
- Actuator Sizing
- Redundancy Management
- MIL-STD-810
- MIL-HDBK-516
