Senior System Safety Engineer

Why Castelion, Why Now Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus, ownership, and excellence are decisive advantages - and we're building a world-class team to turn bold ideas into real capability. This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage, where you'll have significant ownership, collaborate with exceptional teammates, and make a direct, measurable impact on our mission and the future of the company - regardless of your function. Senior System Safety Engineer As a Senior System Safety Engineer, you will lead a tailored, risk-informed System Safety Program across Castelion weapon systems. You will ensure hazards are identified early, risks are clearly understood, and safety is intelligently integrated into system design, development, test, and operations—without unnecessary process or paperwork. This role emphasizes responsible engineering judgment, rapid iteration, and practical risk reduction, while remaining aligned with the intent, rigor, and accountability principles of MIL-STD-882E and applicable DoD safety expectations. You will work closely with propulsion, avionics, GNC, software, flight test, manufacturing, and mission integration teams to embed safety directly into engineering decisions. You will also serve as the primary safety authority interfacing with government customers and safety review boards throughout the program lifecycle. Castelion's approach to system safety is grounded in responsible engineering: hazards are systematically identified, risks are clearly documented, mitigations are technically justified, and risk acceptance decisions are explicit, traceable, and made at the appropriate level of authority. Responsibilities • Define, implement, and continuously improve a tailored System Safety Program aligned with the intent of MIL-STD-882E, scaled appropriately for rapid development, prototyping, and test. • Apply system safety engineering principles pragmatically to identify, analyze, and mitigate hazards across weapon systems and supporting infrastructure. • Lead system and software safety analyses as appropriate to program phase and risk, including: • Functional Hazard Analysis (FHA) • Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) • System and Subsystem Hazard Analysis (SHA / SSHA) • Safety Requirements Hazard Analysis (SRHA) • Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) • Software Safety Analysis • Prioritize safety effort using risk-based decision making, focusing analysis depth where it provides the most value rather than applying uniform process. • Define safety requirements and ensure clear traceability from hazard identification through mitigation implementation, verification, and closure. • Maintain concise, decision-oriented hazard tracking and risk documentation that supports engineering trade studies and timely risk acceptance. • Provide embedded safety engineering support to system design trades, test planning, operational procedures, and hardware/software utilization. • Represent system safety at: • System Safety Working Groups (SSWG) • Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) • Design Reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR) • Test Readiness Reviews (TRR) • Safety Review Boards and customer technical reviews • Support ground test, live-fire, and flight test operations through targeted pre-test hazard analysis, real-time safety support, and post-test risk assessment. • Develop and present lean, technically rigorous safety cases and Safety Assessment Reports (SARs) to internal leadership and government stakeholders. • Continuously refine safety processes, tools, and templates to improve clarity, speed, and engineering impact. • Ensure hazard analyses, mitigations, and risk acceptance decisions are clearly documented, technically justified, and reviewed at the appropriate level, consistent with program and customer safety governance expectations. Basic Requirements • Bachelors degree in science, engineering, or software discipline with 8+ years of relevant or safety-related experience OR Masters degree in science, engineering, or software discipline with 5+ years of relevant or safety-related experience • Demonstrated experience applying MIL-STD-882E in a tailored, risk-informed manner • Experience performing system and software safety analyses for weapon systems or aerospace platforms • Ability to independently assess, quantify, and clearly communicate technical safety risk • Experience supporting design, development, integration, test, and verification of military systems • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including briefing senior technical leaders and government stakeholders • Ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance Preferred Skills and Experience • Experience with: • Missile systems, hypersonic weapons, or advanced strike systems • Flight test or live-fire test safety • Complex embedded software or autonomy-enabled systems • Proven experience presenting safety cases to high-level safety review boards • Active Top-Secret clearance • Strong understanding of DoD acquisition, certification, and operational safety environments • Experience operating in rapid-development, prototype-driven organizations where engineering ownership is emphasized over heavy process All employees are granted long-term stock incentives as part of their employment at Castelion. All employees receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance, and the company offers four weeks of paid time off per year. Castelion offers a generous benefits package. Please refer to the bottom of our Careers page for more details. Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Additional Eligibility Requirements This position may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, as determined by the Company and/or applicable U.S. Government requirements. If the position is so designated, your employment in the role may be contingent upon your ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. Government security clearance or other government authorization, and to satisfy any citizenship or other eligibility requirements imposed by applicable law, regulation, executive order, or government contract requirements. You will be notified if and when such requirements apply. Affirmative Action/EEO Statement Castelion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Castelion is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in the interview process, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact hr@castelion.com. Requests for accommodation will be considered on an individual basis and handled in accordance with applicable law. Castelion is committed to fostering a workplace where employment decisions are based on qualifications, business needs, and the ability to perform the essential functions of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation. EAR/ITAR Requirements This position requires access to export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional expo