What are the responsibilities and job description for the Light UAS Safety Lead position at Odys Aviation?
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:
Responsibilities
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.
- Establish, maintain, and validate requirements crucial for both development and certification activities.
- Develop and execute comprehensive safety program plans tailored to specific customer and regulatory needs.
- 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).
Responsibilities
- You 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).
- Integrate system engineering principles to assess and support system interactions and integration during aircraft and system development.
- 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.
- You will prepare and maintain a safety program plan, considering specific customer and/or regulatory requirements.
- You will establish and maintain safety documentation throughout the development lifecycle.
- You will 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.
- You will be responsible for the correct planning and conduct of all activities within the scope of the respective safety program plan.
- You must be fully conversant and knowledgeable with all UAS systems, limitations and procedures outlined in respective product manuals and specifications.
- You must be fully conversant and knowledgeable with all safety-related customer and/or regulatory requirements associated with the respective UAS program.
- Your daily tasks typically include the conduct of Functional Hazard Assessments (FHAs) at UAS and system levels, Fault Tree Analysis (FTA).
- You will 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.
- You have 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.
- Thorough knowledge of ED-135A/ARP4761A is essential.
- Knowledge of ASTM F3309 is desirable.
- Understanding of novel safety assessment methods like STPA and MBSA is essential.
- Work experience with the analysis tool ATICA, MADe or Ansys Medini is essential.
- Knowledge of European UAS regulations applicable to Specific Category UAS, including JARUS SORA, is desirable.
- Very good knowledge of MS Office and Excel is essential.
- Very good knowledge of spoken and written English is required.
- Possess a critical view and strong analytical mindset.
- You are a good communicator and an excellent team player with a hands-on attitude.
- You have a strong work ethic and team collaboration.
- You are a highly organized person with excellent attention to detail.
- You are reliable, self-motivated, and able to deal with stressful situations and timelines while maintaining a professional, optimistic and non-confrontational attitude.
