Staff Safety Engineer - Light UAS
About Odys
Our mission at Odys is simple - we build safe, sustainable aircraft to cut travel time in half on the world's busiest corridors. Our flagship aircraft Alta enables travelers to skip the big-airport hassle by using city helipads and local airports to connect cities less than 1,000 miles apart (approx 40% of flights). And on average cut CO2 by 76% on tens of billions of flight miles globally.
To get there, we start with our UAV called Laila for commercial logistics, medical transport, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and defense missions. We’re deploying aircraft with launch partners (Fiji Airways, Honeywell, Aramex, US Navy) beginning in late 2025 and already have firm orders for aircraft under contract.
We’re a team of expert engineers from deep tech and aerospace that focus on fast iterations loops (completed transition flight faster than our peers) combined with mastery of the aircraft certification process. Previously, our team developed custom drones, brought multiple automotive platforms into production, and electrified transportation vehicles that magnetically levitate, that roll, that fly. Together, we’ve been learning, developing, building, testing, and preparing for this challenge our entire lives.
About The Role
Are you passionate about ensuring the highest levels of safety and system integration in cutting-edge aviation technology? Do you thrive on tackling complex safety assessments while bridging the gap between various engineering disciplines? If so, we invite you to join our innovative team, where your expertise will drive the safe and reliable development of our Light Unmanned Air System (LUAS) featuring hybrid-electric VTOL capabilities.
In this pivotal role, you will play a key part in supporting our development team by defining critical functions, architectures, and requirements while steering validation and verification activities throughout the product lifecycle. Your deep knowledge of system engineering principles and safety assessment methodologies will ensure that our aircraft and systems not only meet, but exceed stringent customer and regulatory requirements.
Working closely with teams spanning avionics, propulsion, structural design, software, and flight controls, you will integrate system engineering principles to evaluate and support complex system interactions during development. You will establish, maintain, and validate requirements crucial for both development and certification activities. You will develop and execute comprehensive safety program plans tailored to specific customer and regulatory needs. You will also prepare and maintain detailed safety documentation and lead safety-related analysis activities, including Functional Hazard Assessments (FHAs), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and a suite of advanced safety analyses (CMA, PRA, ZSA, and Cascading Effects Analysis).
Your hands-on expertise with industry standards—such as ED-135A/ARP4761A—and modern safety assessment methods like STPA and MBSA will be vital in ensuring that our innovative unmanned systems operate safely under all conditions. If you are a meticulous, self-motivated professional with a strong work ethic and a collaborative mindset, this role offers an exciting opportunity to advance your career while making a significant impact on the future of aviation safety.
Responsibilities
Support the development team in defining functions, architectures and requirements and in the validation and verification activities in the scope of the development cycle of a Light Unmanned Air System (LUAS) incorporating hybrid-electric VTOL Capable Aircraft.
Validate system architectures (e.g.. fly-by-wire, propulsion, actuation).
Conduct Functional Hazard Assessments (FHAs) at UAS and system levels, perform Fault Tree Analysis (FTA).
Establish and maintain the Design and Installation Appraisals addressing Common Mode Analysis (CMA), Particular Risk Analysis (PRA), Zonal Safety Analysis (ZSA) and Cascading Effects Analysis within the scope of the safety assessment process.
Establish and maintain requirements for aircraft and systems as part of development and certification activities.
Perform requirement validation and verification activities to verify compliance with the established safety-related requirements as part of development and certification activities.
Prepare and maintain a safety program plan, considering specific customer and/or regulatory requirements.
Work closely with avionics, propulsion, structural, software, and flight control engineers to ensure safety requirements are established, validated and documented, and offer support to other engineering teams on safety-related topics.
Implement safety processes like ED-135A/ARP4761A.
Required Qualifications
Extensive experience (minimum 5 years) in conducting safety assessments in the aviation sector or a university degree in a relevant engineering discipline with professional experience in conducting safety assessments.
Knowledge of ED-135A/ARP4761A.
Possess a critical view and strong analytical mindset.
Good communicator and an excellent team player with a hands-on attitude.
Strong work ethic and team collaboration.
Highly organized person with excellent attention to detail.
Reliable, self-motivated, and able to deal with stressful situations and timelines while maintaining a professional, optimistic and non-confrontational attitude.
Very good knowledge of MS Office and Excel.
Very good knowledge of spoken and written English.
Preferred Qualifications
Work experience with UAS, eVTOLs and/or hybrid aircraft.
Knowledge of ASTM F3309.
Understanding of novel safety assessment methods like STPA and MBSA.
Knowledge of system reliability and failure modes.
Work experience with the analysis tool ATICA, MADe or Ansys Medini.
Knowledge of European UAS regulations applicable to Specific Category UAS, including JARUS SORA.