Engineering Manager, Simulation at Firestorm in San Diego, CA

Job description

Who We Are At Firestorm, we are building the future of expeditionary defense manufacturing and autonomous systems. Modern conflict has exposed a fundamental problem: the systems needed most by operators are often too expensive, too slow to produce, and too difficult to sustain at scale. Firestorm exists to change that. We develop mission-adaptable aerial systems and deployable manufacturing infrastructure designed to put capability directly into the hands of the warfighter. From modular unmanned aircraft to xCell — our deployable microfactory — our goal is to make defense systems rapidly deployable, adaptable, and producible at the point of need. We are looking for builders, operators, and problem-solvers who want to work on meaningful technology with real-world impact. About the Role Firestorm builds modular autonomous aircraft designed to adapt across missions, payloads, and deployment environments. Developing and testing those aircraft requires simulation that can evolve just as quickly. We are hiring an Engineering Manager to lead the Simulation team and build the software, infrastructure, and tools used to develop, test, train, and demonstrate Firestorm aircaft. You will take ownership of an existing simulation capability and grow it into a reusable UAS simulation platform. The team will support interactive developer workflows, automated SIL/HIL testing, scenario orchestration, training, and mission demonstrations across Firestorm aircraft and their variants. What You’ll Do Lead the Simulation team — Own the team responsible for aircraft simulation infrastructure, tools, models, and integrations. Build the simulation platform — Develop a reusable simulation capability across aircraft, payloads, sensors, propulsion systems, and compute configurations. Enable software development and test — Provide interactive and headless environments used by aircraft software teams and automated SIL/HIL test systems. Build scenario orchestration — Develop tools for defining, configuring, executing, and replaying aircraft and mission scenarios. Scale simulation execution — Build infrastructure for repeatable local, CI, and distributed simulation runs. Integrate the aircraft stack — Connect flight software, autonomy, vehicle models, sensors, actuators, communications, and other aircraft systems into simulation. Support training and demonstrations — Build simulation capabilities that can be used for operator training, mission development, and customer demonstrations. Grow the team — Hire and develop engineers with strong simulation, software, and UAS fundamentals. Required Qualifications 8+ years of software, simulation, robotics, or related engineering experience 3+ years leading software engineering teams U.S. person required due to ITAR regulations Hands-on experience building or integrating simulation systems for aircraft, UAS, robotics, or other complex physical systems Experience with Gazebo, JSBSim, AirSim, FlightGear, or similar simulation frameworks Strong C++ and Python or similar software engineering experience Experience with SIL, HIL, or other integrated simulation environments Experience integrating flight software, vehicle models, sensors, actuators, or hardware interfaces into simulation Strong build, packaging, deployment, and distribution of applications across multiple OS. Experience building automated, reproducible simulation or test environments Demonstrated ability to debug complex problems across simulation, software, networking, and hardware boundaries Preferred Qualifications Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, MAVLink, or similar vehicle software platforms Strong understanding of aircraft dynamics, flight controls, sensors, and propulsion Aerospace, defense, UAS, or autonomous-systems experience Work Environment This role is based in San Diego, CA. We welcome candidates who are local or open to relocating; relocation assistance is available and may be included in the offer package where appropriate. Compensation US Sala