Systems Engineer

Company Overview:

Allen Control Systems (ACS) is a cutting-edge defense startup founded by two former Navy electrical engineers with a proven track record in robotics and software. We are developing an autonomous gun turret using advanced computer vision and control systems to precisely detect, track, and neutralize enemy drones.

With an engineering-first culture, ACS values technical excellence and innovation. Backed by our founders' successful exits from two previous ventures acquired for a combined $180M in 2022, we are committed to ensuring that the groundbreaking technologies we develop will have a real-world impact.

About The Role

We are looking for a Systems Engineer to join our team and help architect, define, and mature our next-generation autonomous weapon platforms. In this role, you will turn high-level mission and product objectives into clear requirements, interfaces, verification plans, and technical decisions that guide development across hardware and software. You will work cross-functionally with design, controls, software, test, and operations teams to drive alignment, manage system-level tradeoffs, and ensure the overall system performs as intended. The ideal candidate is technically rigorous, highly collaborative, and excited to bring structure and clarity to complex, fast-moving engineering programs.

What You'll Do

• Own the full requirements management and verification process for complex autonomous systems, from requirement definition through verification closure.
• Translate program goals, customer needs, and technical constraints into clear, testable system and subsystem requirements.
• Define verification strategies, methods, and pass/fail criteria before testing begins, and ensure each requirement has an explicit path to closure.
• Drive requirement decomposition, traceability, and alignment across mechanical, electrical, software, controls, and operations teams.
• Work closely with test and design engineers to ensure verification activities produce usable evidence and defensible engineering conclusions.
• Identify gaps in requirements, verification coverage, and technical ownership early, and drive cross-functional resolution before they become program risks.
• Review test results, engineering analyses, and system behavior to determine whether requirements have been satisfied or need refinement.
• Help structure design reviews, verification reviews, and technical decision-making around clear evidence rather than informal status.
• Support system integration and issue triage by connecting observed behavior back to system requirements and expected behavior.
• Manage technical risks and conduct engineering trade studies.
• Develop Operations and Maintenance manuals to enforce continuous improvement and align requirements with design processes.
• Raise the bar on technical rigor by ensuring the team knows what must be proven, how it will be proven, and what evidence counts as success

What You'll Need:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering or a related technical field.
• 3+ years of experience in systems engineering, requirements management, verification planning, or multidisciplinary product development.
• Experience writing clear, testable technical requirements and defining practical verification approaches.
• Strong understanding of system integration across hardware and software, including the challenges of cross-functional technical ownership.
• Ability to evaluate test results, engineering analyses, and other technical evidence against requirement intent.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to align teams around clear technical expectations.
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced environment with incomplete information, changing priorities, and high ownership.
• Experience working across mechanical, electrical, software, and test teams to drive technical closure

You'll Stand Out:

• Strong systems thinking with the ability to see where interfaces, assumptions, or missing requirements are likely to create downstream problems.
• A track record of turning ambiguous technical goals into structured requirements, verification plans, and closure criteria.
• Comfort pushing for clarity when ownership, pass/fail criteria, or verification evidence is vague.
• Prior experience qualifying defense, aerospace and/ or safety critical applications.
• Experience with requirements management in JAMA or DOORS.
• A bias toward technical rigor without becoming overly process-heavy.
• Good judgment about how much structure is needed to keep fast-moving engineering work aligned and accountable.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary
• ACS Equity Package
• Health, Dental, Vision Insurance
• Paid Time Off

Allen Control Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer, providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. Allen Control Systems prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.