Principal UAS Integration Engineer – Aerospace & Defense | Secret Clearance | Electrical, Propulsion & Payload Integration

Location & General Responsibilities

• US-based with regular travel to customer sites, test ranges, and European engineering facilities.
• Serve as the primary technical interface between U.S. government customers and the European engineering team.
• Lead customer-specific UAV hardware integration activities within the United States.
• Act as the in-country engineering representative for U.S. customer programmes.
• Translate customer operational requirements into engineering requirements and priorities.
• Support programme execution by coordinating technical activities between customer stakeholders, subcontractors, and internal engineering teams.
• Operate under the technical direction of the European engineering organisation while maintaining day-to-day responsibility for U.S.-based integration activities.

Aircraft, Payload & Hardware Integration

• Lead integration of customer-specific payloads, sensors, communications equipment, antennas, mission equipment, and supporting hardware.
• Assess mechanical, electrical, thermal, weight and balance, and installation impacts of customer-requested modifications.
• Develop installation concepts and integration approaches in coordination with European engineering teams.
• Support development and validation of mounting systems, cable routing, structural modifications, and equipment packaging solutions.
• Act as the primary engineering authority for U.S.-based hardware integration activities.

Airframe, Structures & Composite Integration

• Develop a deep understanding of UAV airframe architecture, structural design philosophy, and composite construction methods.
• Lead assessment and implementation of customer-specific modifications affecting composite airframe structures and equipment installations.
• Evaluate structural impacts associated with new payloads, antennas, sensors, communications equipment, and mission systems.
• Support design reviews for composite airframe modifications, repair schemes, reinforcement concepts, and installation solutions.
• Coordinate with European engineering teams to ensure customer modifications remain compliant with approved structural designs and airworthiness requirements.
• Support development of manufacturing, assembly, repair, and inspection procedures associated with composite structures.
• Provide technical oversight for subcontractors performing composite assembly, repair, or modification activities within the United States.

Propulsion, Fuel & Aircraft Systems Integration

• Develop and maintain detailed understanding of propulsion systems, fuel systems, engine installations, cooling systems, exhaust systems, and supporting aircraft subsystems.
• Assess impacts of customer-driven modifications on propulsion performance, fuel consumption, endurance, aircraft balance, thermal management, and maintainability.
• Support integration of customer-specific equipment requiring interaction with propulsion, fuel, electrical, or aircraft support systems.
• Coordinate installation and validation of propulsion-related modifications in conjunction with European engineering teams.
• Support troubleshooting and root cause analysis of propulsion, fuel, and aircraft systems issues identified during testing and field operations.
• Participate in ground testing, engine testing, commissioning activities, and flight readiness reviews.

Electrical Systems Integration

• Support integration of customer-provided radios, datalinks, SATCOM systems, sensors, payloads, and mission equipment.
• Evaluate electrical load requirements, power distribution impacts, and interface compatibility.
• Support troubleshooting of integrated aircraft electrical systems during testing and deployment activities.
• Coordinate with European engineering teams on electrical architecture changes and hardware upgrades.

Documentation, Technical Data & Customer Compliance

• Review, assess, and support adaptation of UAV technical documentation to meet U.S. customer and Department of Defense requirements.
• Act as the primary U.S. engineering focal point for customer reviews of technical data packages, integration documentation, operating procedures, maintenance manuals, and support documentation.
• Coordinate with European engineering teams to ensure customer-requested documentation updates are accurately incorporated into controlled engineering documentation.
• Support development, review, and maintenance of installation instructions, assembly procedures, maintenance procedures, inspection criteria, acceptance test procedures, and field support documentation.
• Ensure engineering documentation remains aligned with approved aircraft configurations, customer modifications, and fielded system baselines.
• Support customer audits, technical reviews, configuration reviews, and acceptance activities requiring engineering documentation and supporting evidence.
• Identify gaps between existing European engineering documentation and U.S. customer expectations and coordinate closure plans with the engineering organization.

Flight Test, Demonstration & Deployment Support

• Act as lead hardware integration engineer during customer demonstrations, evaluations, and flight test campaigns.
• Support aircraft preparation, integration verification, troubleshooting, and readiness reviews.
• Coordinate resolution of integration issues identified during testing and operational deployment.
• Provide technical support during demonstrations, exercises, and field evaluations.
• Support deployment of UAV systems into customer operational environments.
• Provide technical guidance to customer operators, maintainers, and programme personnel.

Systems Engineering & Configuration Management

• Maintain awareness of platform architecture, system interfaces, and engineering baselines.
• Ensure customer modifications and integration activities remain compliant with approved engineering configurations.
• Support requirements management, change control, and configuration management processes.
• Assist engineering leadership in assessing impacts of customer-requested modifications.
• Support development and maintenance of integration documentation, interface definitions, and technical reports.

Success Criteria

• Be the trusted technical representative of the United States.
• Successfully bridge communication and execution between U.S. customers and European engineering teams.
• Ensure customer-specific hardware integrations are delivered efficiently while protecting platform integrity and engineering standards.
• Successfully establish and maintain a U.S.-government-compliant technical documentation baseline supporting testing, deployment, sustainment, and customer acceptance activities.

Required Qualifications

• Active U.S. Secret Security Clearance minimum; Top Secret preferred.
• 5+ years of experience supporting UAS, aerospace, defense, aircraft integration, or military aviation programs.
• Experience with UAS platforms, aerospace systems integration, aircraft modification programs, or defense aerospace programs.
• Strong systems engineering and customer-facing technical leadership experience.
• Experience supporting U.S. Department of Defense customers, operational testing, military programs, or fielded defense systems.
• Hands-on experience integrating aircraft systems, payloads, sensors, communications systems, propulsion systems, or electrical systems.
• Experience with composite aircraft structures, propulsion systems, electrical systems, and payload integration.
• Experience supporting system validation, troubleshooting, testing, and field deployment activities.
• Ability to review engineering designs, technical documentation, integration plans, and system requirements.
• Experience working across multidisciplinary engineering teams including mechanical, electrical, software, avionics, and flight-test organizations.
• Ability to work effectively with geographically distributed engineering teams.
• Willingness to travel within the U.S. and internationally as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active U.S. Top Secret clearance.
• Prior U.S. military service.
• Experience supporting Group 2-5 UAS platforms.
• Background in aircraft integration, airworthiness, flight test, aerospace certification, or military aviation environments.
• Experience with power distribution systems, avionics integration, wiring harnesses, electrical architectures, or aircraft electronics.
• Experience integrating ISR payloads, EO/IR sensors, communications systems, SATCOM, datalinks, mission computers, or mission equipment.
• Experience supporting flight-test campaigns, military exercises, customer demonstrations, or operational deployments.
• Experience working with SOCOM, Army UAS programs, DIU, AFWERX, DEVCOM, NAVAIR, USAF, or major defense prime contractors.
• Experience supporting rapid prototyping, customer-specific aircraft modifications, or operational capability deployments.