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Senior Systems Engineer

Salient Motion

Salient Motion

Software Engineering
torrance, ca, usa
Posted on Apr 1, 2026

Who We Are

We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about motor control technology, let's chat!

We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future.

A couple other things:

  • We are open to relocating you
  • We have great benefits
  • We are well funded, and already generating revenue
  • We are located in beautiful Torrance, CA and just moved into a new large hangar facility

What You'll Do

We are seeking a seasoned, senior systems engineer to lead the architecture and integration of our precision motion control products from concept through qualification. You will be the definitive technical authority connecting electrical, mechanical, firmware, and software disciplines — setting the engineering standard, mentoring junior engineers, and ensuring the whole system performs beyond the sum of its parts.

  • Technical Leadership: Set the systems engineering standard for the organization — establish best practices for requirements management, interface control, and V&V; mentor and develop junior and mid-level engineers.
  • Systems Architecture: Define and maintain top-level system architectures for electromagnetic actuators and motion control assemblies, establishing clear interfaces, design margins, and performance budgets across subsystems.
  • Requirements Management: Develop, decompose, and flow down system requirements from customer and regulatory inputs to subsystem and component owners; manage requirements traceability throughout the product lifecycle.
  • Interface Definition & Control: Own interface control documents (ICDs) and manage internal and external interfaces across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and software domains.
  • Trade Studies & Analysis: Lead trade studies to inform key design decisions; perform or coordinate system-level analyses including power budgets, thermal models, mass properties, and reliability/FMEA assessments.
  • Integration & Verification: Architect the integration, test, and verification strategy for complex electromechanical systems; ensure all requirements are covered by a traceable verification matrix (V&V plan).
  • Environmental Qualification: Lead hardware qualification campaigns to DO-160 and MIL-STD-810 standards, coordinating test planning, execution, and formal documentation across multidisciplinary teams.
  • Cross-Functional Leadership: Serve as the senior technical anchor across engineering disciplines — driving design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR), resolving ambiguous system-level issues, and presenting technical status and risk to program and executive leadership.
  • Hands-On Mindset: Be comfortable running the test to debug the system to ensure successful functionality and delivery.

What You Need

  • Education: Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline. Master's degree preferred.
  • Experience: 8+ years of systems engineering experience across the full product lifecycle — from concept and requirements definition through integration, test, and fielding — with at least 2 years in a technical lead capacity.
  • Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, drive alignment across stakeholders, and mentor developing engineers.
  • Systems Thinking: Proven ability to manage complexity at scale — translating ambiguous customer needs into verifiable requirements and coherent system architectures under schedule and resource constraints.
  • Requirements & Modeling Tools: Deep experience with requirements management tools (e.g., DOORS, Jama, Jira)
  • Verification & Validation: Expert-level command of V&V methodologies; track record of authoring and executing test plans and procedures against formal requirements on fielded hardware.
  • Aerospace/Defense Standards: Strong familiarity with systems engineering frameworks such as SAE ARP4754A, or equivalent; proven experience qualifying hardware to DO-160, DO-178, and/or MIL-STD-810.
  • Electromechanical Acumen: Deep working knowledge of electromagnetic actuator principles, mechanical load paths, power electronics, and embedded control systems — sufficient to technically lead all subsystem teams.
  • Ownership — you take ownership of outcomes, not just outputs, and are willing to roll up your sleeves to get hardware working.

Nice to Have

  • MBSE Proficiency: Hands-on experience developing SysML models for architecture definition, requirements traceability, or interface management.
  • Gearbox & Drivetrain Knowledge: Familiarity with precision drivetrain components including gears, encoders, and braking systems.
  • Failure Analysis: Experience leading FMEA/FMECA, fault tree analysis (FTA), or failure rate/reliability modeling for complex electromechanical systems.
  • Dual-Environment Experience: Comfort operating in both high-compliance, "heavy" aerospace programs and fast-paced, lean R&D environments.

What we have to offer:

We are not just building components. We are reshaping the future of the Aerospace and Defense component industry, which is a $300B+ market! Come join us and help build next generation systems that will make a massive impact at global scale.

  • We offer competitive compensation + equity
  • Exceptional healthcare benefits, Medical is 100% covered by the company
  • Flexible PTO
  • 401K
  • More to come!