Job Summary:
Firestorm is building the next generation of uncrewed aircraft and advanced manufacturing systems. As a System Architect, you will own the end-to-end software system architecture, ensuring coherent integration of product definitions, manufacturing software, and automation layers.
Responsibilities:
• Own the reference architecture for the manufacturing software system end-to-end: product definition, platform, edge, automation, intelligence modules, and the integration contracts between them.
• Define and evolve the canonical domain model — how product definitions, work orders, engineering changes, effectivity, and operational feedback are represented across the system.
• Author the system-level design documents that engineers build against — reference architectures, canonical data models, API contracts, integration specifications.
• Serve as technical authority on cross-program architectural questions: how the system absorbs a new product program, a new manufacturing cell, a new module, or a new deployment topology without accumulating fragmentation.
• Write production code where it matters — proof-of-concept implementations that prove a design works, critical path contributions when the architecture is load-bearing, and reviews that hold the line on system coherence.
• Partner closely with the Principal Engineer on how architecture lands in engineering execution, and with the department head on how architecture informs roadmap and strategy.
• Partner with Applied AI engineers to devise optimization models, and with Full Stack engineers to redesign data schemas.
Qualifications:
Required:
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience)
• U.S. Citizenship required due to ITAR regulations
• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with a substantial portion of that time spent architecting, implementing, and shipping integrated software systems
• Demonstrated track record of success as a hands-on architect, with software solutions delivered in the past
• Deep software breadth — you are fluent across application, data, distributed systems, and integration concerns, and you can go deep on any of them when required.
• Strong applied math or algorithmic literacy — you can partner with an optimization engineer on problem formulation and reason about the math, not just the code around it.
• Exceptional written communication. The reference architecture document is your primary artifact, and engineers should actually use it.
• Demonstrated ability to influence across engineering without formal authority: design reviews, technical decisions, and cross-team alignment.
• Demonstrated history of holding yourself and your teammates to a high standard, even when it creates discomfort.
Preferred:
• Prior experience architecting software systems for manufacturing, aerospace, defense, industrial IoT, or other hardware-connected domains.
• Hands-on experience with scheduling, planning, or resource allocation optimization — MILP, constraint programming, or heuristic approaches.
• Familiarity with MES, PLM, ERP, or similar enterprise manufacturing systems and their integration patterns.
• Experience designing systems for regulated deployment environments (FedRAMP, ITAR, air-gapped DoD).
Company:
Firestorm develops modular, mission-adaptable unmanned aerial systems (UAS) designed for military applications. Founded in 2022, the company is headquartered in San Diego, USA, with a team of 51-200 employees. The company is currently Growth Stage.