Senior Systems Engineer II

Location: Austin, Texas, United States

Department: R&D Engineering

ICON is looking for a Senior Systems Engineer to manage the cross functional development of our Off-Planet Robotic Systems development. The ideal candidate should have a solid foundation of systems engineering tools, processes, and methodologies. This individual is extremely proficient at communicating accurate information both out and up, a strong communicator, and has the ability to lead a highly experienced technical development team of engineers, scientists, and technicians. We need a proactive self-starter who is humble, meticulous, hardworking, collaborative and loves to solve problems. This role will report to the Technical Director, Off-Planet Systems at our Austin, TX campus.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Use NASA and NASA-like systems engineering approaches, including model based system engineering (MBSE) to manage requirements, milestones, and associated programmatic and system needs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional, multidisciplinary teams to lead, drive, and execute design, development, and test of a spaceflight hardware program. 
• Create documentation and organize technical information to serve as deliverables in government contracts, white-papers, and presentations.
• Own the execution of multiple programs and their interrelated projects in an organized, detailed manner. Projects require cross-functional coordination, communication, influence, and negotiation, including direct customer interface.
• Analyze stakeholder needs across all workstreams to identify gaps, identify risks, and define mitigation for an acceptable and timely solution.
• Efficiently communicate project status to stakeholders and leadership via presentations, dashboards, email, verbal, etc.
• Assume accountability for the entire program from start to finish while ensuring all project objectives and deliverables are met.
• Ability to lead a highly skilled multi-disciplinary team in the development of highly complex and sophisticated electro-mechanical robotic systems.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or STEM-related field. Mechanical or Aerospace engineering background preferred.
• 8+ years of engineering product development experience with at least 3+ years experience in R&D environments developing new and cutting edge products.  
• 5+ years of experience in systems engineering for space applications with a proven track record of successfully managing hardware system development projects to completion.
• Innovative and creative problem solver with meticulous attention to detail and a stickler for time management.
• Strong curiosity tendencies and a willingness to challenge the highest technical members on the team in regards to process, approach, technical strategy, and risk.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, ability to filter and distill the relevant information to the right audience.
• Comfortable with change and ambiguity with the ability to quickly propose solutions given limited guidance.
• Strong understanding of System Engineering principles in regards to requirements capture, risk management, system block diagrams, and work breakdown structures.
• Can communicate with technical and non-technical team members effectively.
• Experience in R&D engineering, test/validation, and manufacturing.
• Adept at communicating in a collaborative team environment and seeking optimum solutions with other team members.
• Knowledge of or direct experience with MBSE

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Previous start-up experience, and/or a resourceful innovative nature with an ability to streamline or develop efficient processes.
• Ability to prepare written technical documents and to verbally present at various meetings. 
• Ability to work with a strong work ethic and close attention to detail in a fast-paced dynamic team environment with rapidly changing roles and responsibilities.
• Knowledge of Model-Based Systems Engineering methods.
• Experience with the design and development of robotic systems.
• Experience in Aerospace, preferably with spaceflight hardware development.
• Experience in Additive manufacturing technologies.
• Experience in managing large-scale and dynamic engineering projects.
• M.S. in Systems Engineering or certificates of education in Systems Engineering practices.
• Demonstrated ability to grasp new technical concepts quickly and to lead operations and technical teams.
• Ability to prioritize and stay cool in a dynamic start-up environment.
• A hunger for learning and personal growth.