Senior System Safety Engineer

Senior System Safety EngineerTorrance, CA, USAAbout the Job Senior System Safety EngineerCastelion is bringing a new approach to defense development and production: one that focuses on short, iterative design cycles, rapid testing in development, and modern commercial manufacturing strategies for production at scale. We're designing, building, and testing next generation long range strike weapons systems to give America and its Allies a definitive edge and deter future conflicts.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.ResponsibilitiesDefine, 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 AnalysisPrioritize 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 reviewsSupport 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 RequirementsBachelors 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 experienceDemonstrated experience applying MIL-STD-882E in a tailored, risk-informed mannerExperience performing system and software safety analyses for weapon systems or aerospace platformsAbility to independently assess, quantify, and clearly communicate technical safety riskExperience supporting design, development, integration, test, and verification of military systemsStrong written and verbal communication skills, including briefing senior technical leaders and government stakeholdersAbility to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearancePreferred Skills and ExperienceExperience with:Missile systems, hypersonic weapons, or advanced strike systemsFlight test or live-fire test safetyComplex embedded software or autonomy-enabled systemsProven experience presenting safety cases to high-level safety review boardsActive Top-Secret clearanceStrong understanding of DoD acquisition, certification, and operational safety environmentsExperience operating in rapid-development, prototype-driven organizations where engineering ownership is emphasized over heavy processLeadership QualitiesBias to Action and Creative Problem Solving. Desire and experience questioning assumptions in ways that lead to break through ideas that are ultimately implemented. Successfully bring in applicable processes/concepts/materials from other industries to achieve efficiency gains. Ability to personally resolve minor issues in development without requiring significant support.High Commitment, High Initiative. A successful candidate will have a genuine passion for Castelion's mission and consistently look for ways to contribute to the company's technical goals and prevent hardware blockers. Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere. Strong sense of accountability and integrity.Clear Communicator. Proactively communicates blockers. Trusted in previous roles to be voice of company with regulators, suppliers, gate keepers and customers. Capable of tactfully managing relationships with stakeholders to achieve company-desired outcomes without compromising relationships. Emails, IMs and verbal interactions are logical, drive clarity, and detailed enough to eliminate ambiguity.ITAR Requirements:To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.Employment with Castelion is governed on the basis of competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.Or refer someone