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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Jet System Analyst

💰 $ - $

AerospaceAvionicsSystems EngineeringAircraft Maintenance

🎯 Role Definition

The Jet System Analyst is a systems-focused avionics professional who defines, verifies and sustains aircraft system requirements, architectures, and verification artifacts across the aircraft life cycle. Working at the intersection of systems engineering, software/hardware integration and certification, the Jet System Analyst ensures avionics and aircraft subsystems meet performance, safety and regulatory requirements (FAA/EASA) while enabling maintainability, diagnostics and continuous improvement across production and in-service fleets. SEO & LLM keywords: Jet System Analyst, avionics systems, aircraft systems engineering, DO-178C, DO-254, MBSE, requirements traceability, ARINC, MIL-STD.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Systems Engineer (Avionics / Embedded)
  • Avionics Test or Integration Engineer
  • Software Engineer — Embedded / Flight Controls

Advancement To:

  • Senior Systems Engineer / Principal Systems Analyst
  • Lead Systems Engineer — Aircraft/Avionics Programs
  • Certification / Compliance Lead or System Architect

Lateral Moves:

  • Flight Test Engineer
  • Safety & Certification Engineer (FHA/FMEA specialist)
  • Product Manager for Avionics Systems

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, maintain and validate system-level requirements and high-level architecture for jet aircraft systems (flight controls, FMS, mission systems, power, environmental control), ensuring clear traceability from stakeholder needs to software/hardware design and verification artifacts.
  • Lead requirements management activities using DOORS/Jama/Polarion: author, decompose, allocate and maintain bidirectional traceability between system, software, hardware and test requirements to support certification and baseline control.
  • Produce and review Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Interface Requirement Specifications (IRS) and data flow diagrams to define electrical, digital and protocol interfaces (ARINC 429/664, MIL-STD-1553, CAN, Ethernet).
  • Plan, author and manage verification and validation (V&V) activities including requirements-based test plans, SIL/HIL procedures, bench test scripts, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) setups and acceptance test procedures to demonstrate compliance with DO-178C/DO-254 objectives.
  • Support certification activities: prepare compliance matrices, coordinate certification evidence, respond to FAA/EASA inquiries, and liaise with certification authorities and designated engineering representatives (DERs) to close verification items and certification findings.
  • Execute system integration and troubleshooting activities in lab and aircraft environments; diagnose hardware/software root causes using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, telemetry and debug logs; propose corrective action and design changes.
  • Apply Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) using SysML/Cameo or similar tools to model system behavior, perform trade studies, and generate consistent design artifacts for architecture and verification.
  • Collaborate with embedded software and avionics hardware teams to evaluate design proposals, resolve interface mismatches, and ensure design meets allocated system performance, timing and resource constraints.
  • Drive system safety and reliability tasks: perform System/Software Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA/FMECA), Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), Preliminary System Safety Assessments (PSSA), and support safety case development.
  • Create and maintain system-level test harnesses, scripting (Python, TCL) and automated test benches to increase repeatability of verification, accelerate regression testing and generate reproducible test evidence for audits.
  • Support flight test planning and execution: define flight test requirements, coordinate instrumentation and telemetry, participate in flight test campaigns to validate system performance and close flight test discrepancies (FDR, telemetry analysis).
  • Conduct performance and timing analysis for real-time avionics software (determine CPU utilization, memory footprint, jitter), and work with firmware/software teams to optimize task scheduling and resource allocation on RTOS (VxWorks, Integrity, FreeRTOS).
  • Author technical documentation and deliverables including System Requirements Specifications (SyRS), Interface Specifications, Verification and Validation Plans (V&V Plans), Test Reports, and maintenance/installation instructions for sustainment.
  • Manage configuration and baselines for system artifacts using CM tools (Git, SVN) and ensure all changes are traceable through change requests, impact analysis and regression test updates.
  • Coordinate supplier and subcontractor integration: review supplier designs, perform supplier audits, flow down requirements, manage deliverables and ensure supplier test evidence meets program standards and certification needs.
  • Lead system-level trade studies and technical risk assessments to inform design decisions, technology selection, weight/power/thermal impacts, and life-cycle cost implications for avionics and aircraft subsystems.
  • Implement diagnostic and prognostic features: specify health monitoring requirements, log formats, fault detection/isolation algorithms and support development of Maintenance and Diagnostic (M&D) solutions for Line Replaceable Units (LRUs).
  • Support software lifecycle and assurance activities compliant with DO-178C including planning, coding standards, requirements-based testing, coverage analysis, tool qualification and artifact delivery for certification authorities.
  • Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers: review work products, coach on systems thinking, and establish best practices for requirements, verification and MBSE usage across the engineering team.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives: optimize verification flows, reduce test cycle time, increase automation of test evidence capture, and implement lessons learned into process improvements aligned with CMMI/AS9100 guidelines.
  • Prepare cost and schedule estimates for system integration, test campaigns and certification milestones; identify critical path items and propose mitigation strategies to meet program milestones.
  • Support in-service aircraft sustainment: analyze in-service discrepancies, propose corrective actions, deploy software patches/maintenance releases (including OTA processes where applicable), and update documentation to reflect configuration changes.
  • Participate in cross-functional technical reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR) as systems lead: present system designs, verification strategies, risk matrices and ensure traceability from requirements to test evidence for program stakeholders.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist procurement and sourcing teams with technical evaluations of avionics components and supplier proposals.
  • Provide training sessions for operations and maintenance personnel on system behavior, diagnostic procedures and troubleshooting workflows.
  • Support preparation of bid and proposal technical volumes by providing system architecture, technical risk assessments and test plans.
  • Track and report engineering metrics (requirements coverage, test pass rate, defect density) to program management and improve quality gates.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Systems engineering and requirements management (DO-178C, DO-254, RTCA/DO-160 knowledge).
  • Requirements tools: IBM DOORS, Jama, Polarion or equivalent for traceability and baseline control.
  • MBSE and SysML modeling (Cameo, MagicDraw) for architecture and behavior modeling.
  • Avionics protocols and interfaces: ARINC 429/664/818, MIL-STD-1553, CAN, Ethernet, serial protocols.
  • Embedded software fundamentals: C/C++, device drivers, RTOS (VxWorks, Integrity, FreeRTOS).
  • Model-based design and simulation: MATLAB/Simulink, Simulink Code Generation and Model-in-the-Loop (MiL).
  • Verification and test: SIL, HIL, functional test development, bench testing, automated test frameworks.
  • Hardware integration and instrumentation: oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, data acquisition systems and flight data recorders.
  • Safety and reliability analysis: FMEA/FMECA, FHA, PSSA and safety case development.
  • Certification and regulatory experience: FAA/EASA processes, DER engagement, certification artifact development.
  • Scripting and automation: Python, Bash, TCL for test automation and data parsing.
  • Configuration management and CI/CD tools: Git, Jenkins, ClearCase or equivalent.
  • Diagnostics/prognostics and health monitoring methodologies for LRUs and avionics systems.
  • Performance and timing analysis for real-time systems; CPU, memory and latency optimization.
  • Familiarity with avionics environmental and EMI/EMC testing standards (RTCA/DO-160).

Soft Skills

  • Clear written and verbal communication tailored to engineers, program managers and regulators.
  • Strong analytical and root-cause problem solving with meticulous attention to detail.
  • Stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration across hardware, software, test and certification teams.
  • Ability to prioritize, manage tasks and meet tight program schedules under pressure.
  • Adaptability to changing requirements and emergent flight test findings.
  • Mentoring and team development skills; able to guide junior engineers and drive consistent processes.
  • Customer-focused mindset for both internal program stakeholders and external regulators/suppliers.
  • Decision-making under uncertainty; ability to balance technical risk, schedule and cost.
  • Presentation and briefing skills for technical reviews and certification boards.
  • Ethics and compliance orientation when managing safety-critical artifacts and certification evidence.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering or related STEM discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Aerospace Systems, Systems Engineering, Avionics, or an MBA with significant technical experience preferred for senior/principal roles.
  • Certifications such as INCOSE ASEP/ASE, PMP, or avionics-specific training are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Systems Engineering
  • Electrical / Electronics Engineering
  • Computer Science / Software Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering (for integration-heavy roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–10+ years in avionics or aircraft systems engineering roles; 5+ years preferred for independently leading system-level work.

Preferred:

  • 5–8+ years working on commercial or business jet avionics/aircraft programs with direct exposure to DO-178C/DO-254 certification artifacts.
  • Demonstrated experience in requirements authoring and management, MBSE, SIL/HIL testing, flight test support and supplier integration.
  • Proven track record of delivering system-level documentation for FAA/EASA certification or major aircraft modifications.
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