AMERICAN SYSTEMS, a 100% employee-owned federal government contractor, is looking for an Operations Engineer to support innovative research and development efforts at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC), at Edwards AFB, CA.
In this role, you’ll provide technical leadership and hands-on engineering support across a broad range of operations activities. You’ll apply strong engineering fundamentals to help plan, coordinate, and execute complex work in a fast-paced aerospace research environment.
This is an opportunity to contribute to meaningful, mission-driven work alongside NASA and industry partners while building your career with an employee-owned company.
ResponsibilitiesAs a NASA Operations Engineer with AMERICAN SYSTEMS, you will have the opportunity to do the following:
Engineering and Integration
- Define and manage system requirements, risk, and integration strategies.
- Support aircraft operations, modifications, maintenance planning, and troubleshooting.
- Serve as the Operations Engineer for AFRC manned and unmanned projects, including the development of autonomous aircraft technologies and flight vehicle integration procedures across NASA and partner organizations.
- Maintain aircraft configuration management, including manuals, directives, TCTOs, Airworthiness Directives, and Maintenance Directives.
- Prepare and manage Certificates of Authorization (COAs).
- Lead and support flight test planning, including test card development.
- Participate in and lead Operations, Mission Rule, and Systems Safety Working Groups.
- Develop procedures for the assembly, installation, and integration of scientific instruments into NASA aircraft.
- Analyze project objectives, develop execution plans, and support safety reviews, including hazard documentation, FMEA, and mitigation planning.
- Review project instructions to confirm requirements, specifications, and objectives; recommend solutions to technical issues.
- Conduct and oversee system and component testing and research studies supporting performance improvements, development, and quality control.
- Record and analyze test procedures, results, and data; provide recommendations.
Leadership, Research, and Project Management
- Serve as a technical lead and mentor for engineering teams and junior engineers.
- Drive research and development initiatives supporting NASA aerospace advancements.
- Lead Tech Briefs, risk assessments, and strategic planning for flight test programs.
- Represent the Operations Engineering Branch during pre-mission deployments.
- Mentor engineers in technical specialties, systems engineering, and project management.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field. A master’s degree is a plus.
- At least 5 years of experience supporting flight test activities on Gulfstream aircraft.
- Ability to work onsite daily at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center.
- Availability to work a 9/80 schedule, with alternating Fridays off and core hours generally between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
- Ability to travel occasionally, both locally and longer distance, by car or commercial air.
Additional Desirable Experience
- Supporting airborne science payloads, research missions, or aircraft modification efforts.
- Working with LIDAR systems, optical payloads, sensor integration, or related airborne instrumentation.
- Supporting Gulfstream platforms or comparable research aircraft fleets.
- Flight test planning, test card development, mission execution, and flight operations.
- Risk management practices, airworthiness certification requirements, and flight safety processes.
We’re interested in candidates who bring experience in one or more of the above areas. If your background does not include every item, we still encourage you to apply.
Pay Transparency StatementAMERICAN SYSTEMS is committed to pay transparency for our applicants and employee-owners. The salary range for this position is USD $100,000.00/Yr. - USD $155,000/Yr. Actual compensation will be determined based on several factors permitted by law. AMERICAN SYSTEMS provides for the welfare of its employees and their dependents through a comprehensive benefits program by offering healthcare benefits, paid leave, retirement plans, insurance programs, and education and training assistance. EEO StatementEEO Race/Sex/Disability Status/Veteran StatusSkills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field
- Master's degree
- At least 5 years of experience supporting flight test activities on Gulfstream aircraft
- Ability to work onsite daily at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center
- Availability to work a 9/80 schedule with alternating Fridays off and core hours generally between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
- Ability to travel occasionally by car or commercial air, both locally and longer distance
- Experience supporting airborne science payloads, research missions, or aircraft modification efforts
- Experience with LIDAR systems, optical payloads, sensor integration, or related airborne instrumentation
- Experience supporting Gulfstream platforms or comparable research aircraft fleets
- Experience with flight test planning, test card development, mission execution, and flight operations
- Experience with risk management, airworthiness certification requirements, and flight safety processes
AMERICAN SYSTEMS Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about AMERICAN SYSTEMS and has not been reviewed or approved by AMERICAN SYSTEMS.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — The ESOP provides an ownership stake that adds long-term financial value and complements base pay. This employee-ownership structure stands out within the overall package.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with automatic enrollment and broad investment options, alongside the ESOP, strengthens retirement pathways beyond salary. These features are presented as competitive within the defense contracting space.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Base pay is considered fair or comparable to industry peers, particularly for technical roles. Starting compensation is described as solid for areas like cybersecurity, systems administration, and IT engineering.
AMERICAN SYSTEMS Insights
What We Do
AMERICAN SYSTEMS is an employee-owned government services contractor that delivers professional, technical, information technology, engineering, analysis, testing, evaluation, and training solutions for complex national-priority programs. Based in McLean, Virginia, the company supports federal customers—particularly defense and other Department of Defense missions—with mission-essential and information engineering, digital engineering, systems integration, cybersecurity, cloud, data, and lifecycle IT services across critical public-sector environments.
