Staff Systems Engineer, Aviation

Flock Safety Systems Engineer

Flock Safety is the leading safety technology platform, helping communities thrive by taking a proactive approach to crime prevention and security. Our hardware and software suite connects cities, law enforcement, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods in a nationwide public-private safety network. Trusted by over 5,000 communities, 4,500 law enforcement agencies, and 1,000 businesses, Flock delivers real-time intelligence while prioritizing privacy and responsible innovation.

We're a high-performance, low-ego team driven by urgency, collaboration, and bold thinking. Working at Flock means tackling big challenges, moving fast, and continuously improving. It's intense but deeply rewarding for those who want to make an impact.

With nearly $700M in venture funding and a $7.5B valuation, we're scaling intentionally and seeking top talent to help build the impossible. If you value teamwork, ownership, and solving tough problems, Flock could be the place for you.

The Opportunity

Flock is building the future of autonomous aerial systems, and this team sits at the center of making that happen. As a Systems Engineer, you'll work on the full drone platform, bringing together payloads, propulsion, connectivity, flight control, and other critical subsystems into a system that performs reliably in the real world. This is a deeply hands-on role for someone who loves solving complex integration challenges and wants to work close to the hardware.

You'll partner across mechanical, electrical, embedded, and connectivity teams to validate how the entire aircraft comes together, troubleshoot issues across subsystem boundaries, and improve performance through testing and iteration. From integrating new payloads to tuning flight behavior and refining system performance, your work will directly shape how our drone platforms operate in the field.

This is a great opportunity for someone who has broad UAS systems experience and enjoys seeing the whole picture not just one piece of the stack. We're looking for an engineer who is energized by building, testing, and optimizing complex aerial systems, and who wants to help push a fast-moving team forward in one of the most interesting technical environments at Flock.

The Skillset

• Experience working with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drone platforms
• Hands-on experience integrating and validating complex subsystems such as payloads, propulsion, connectivity, and flight control components
• Strong background in system-level debugging across electrical, mechanical, and software interfaces
• Experience with flight testing and real-world performance validation
• Experience tuning PID controllers
• Experience working with PX4 firmware or similar flight control software
• Familiarity with flight controller filtering, position estimation, and optimization
• Ability to understand how an entire drone platform fits together, not just an individual subsystem
• Background in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, robotics, mechanical engineering, or a related field
• Prior experience in the drone industry is strongly preferred
• Candidates from adjacent robotics, aerospace, or autonomous systems backgrounds may also be considered if they bring relevant hands-on UAS or vehicle integration experience
• Portfolio of hobby, side, or personal projects involving drones, robotics, or autonomous systems is a strong plus
• Must be based in or willing to relocate to Atlanta, GA

Feeling uneasy that you haven't ticked every box? That's okay; we've felt that way too. Studies have shown women and minorities are less likely to apply unless they meet all qualifications. We encourage you to break the status quo and apply to roles that would make you excited to come to work every day.

90 Days at Flock

We prescribe to 90 day plans and believe that good days lead to good weeks, which lead to good months. This serves as a preview of the 90 day plan you will receive if you were to be hired in this role at Flock Safety.

The First 30 Days

• Work with/shadow the airframes engineering team to get up to speed on the current state of aircraft development, current priorities, and day to day team cadence
• Shadow the aircraft tech team to get hands on with the assembly process
• Get up to speed on all current assembly and block diagrams, with the goal of deeply understanding all components and subsystems onboard aircraft
• Study for and get FAA part 107 (if not already held)

The First 60 Days

Take on and deliver the first airframes engineering project as a DRI, this could include:

• Development aircraft build(s)
• New component selection/testing/integration
• Tune/Parameter improvements and flight testing

90 Days & Beyond

Identify opportunities to improve UAS system design and performance

• Create and execute project plans
• Identify new components to test and evaluate
• Begin working on forward-looking projects to evaluate new technologies that could improve future UAS development

Salary & Equity

In this role, you'll receive a starting salary between $150,000 to $200,000 as well as Flock Safety Stock Options. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, and market indicators. Your recruiter will discuss this in-depth with you during our first chat.

Location

This role is based in Atlanta, GA, where you'll join our dynamic team to collaborate in person and drive innovation. Candidates must reside in or relocate for this position.

The Perks

Flexible PTO: We offer non-accrual PTO, plus 11 company holidays.

Fully-paid health plan for employees: including Medical, Dental, and Vision and an HSA match.

Family Leave: All employees receive 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 6-8 weeks of physical recovery time.

Fertility & Family Benefits: We have partnered with Maven, a complete digital health benefit for starting and raising a family. Flock will provide a $50,000-lifetime maximum benefit related to eligible adoption, surrogacy, or fertility expenses.

Spring Health: Spring Health offers a variety of mental health benefits, including therapy, coaching, medication management, and digital tools, all tailored to each individual's needs.

Caregiver Support: We have partnered with Cariloop to provide our employees with caregiver support.

Carta Tax Advisor: Employees receive 1:1 sessions with Equity Tax Advisors who can address individual grants, model tax scenarios, and answer general questions.

ERGs: We want all employees to thrive and feel like they belong at Flock. We offer four ERGs today - Women of Flock, Flock Proud, LEOs and Melanin Motion. If you are interested in talking to a representative from one of these, please let your recruiter know.

WFH Stipend: $150 per month to cover the costs of working from home.

Productivity Stipend: $300 per year to use on Audible, Calm, Masterclass, Duolingo and so much more.

Home Office Stipend: A one-time $750 to help you create your dream office.

Flock is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diverse backgrounds and thoughts and welcome everyone to apply for employment with us. We are committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive, transparent, and collaborative. Mutual respect is central to how Flock operates, and we believe the best solutions come from diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills. We embrace our differences and know that we are stronger working together.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at recruiting@flocksafety.com. This information will be treated as confidential and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.

At Flock Safety, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. The range above is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future. This job posting may span more than one career level.

Flock Safety is aware of fraudulent individuals and agencies falsely claiming to represent our company. All legitimate communication from Flock Safety will come from an email address ending in @flocksafety.com. We do not make job offers through messaging apps, social platforms, or unauthorized third parties, and we will