Hypersonica
Senior V&V Systems Engineer
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Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability
At Hypersonica, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast.
By joining Hypersonica, you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously.
We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence.
What You'll Do
- Own the system architecture and system model for Hypersonica’s high‑speed flight vehicles, ensuring mission intent, vehicle dynamics, avionics, and GNC form a coherent, verifiable whole.
- Lead aerospace systems architecture design, taking responsibility for how the vehicle is defined across disciplines from early concept through Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and beyond.
- Build and maintain the authoritative system requirements model, decomposing mission‑level objectives into clear, testable system and sub‑system requirements.
- Define and own the end‑to‑end system V‑model, including requirements validation, verification strategy, and clear readiness gates for Kick‑off and PDR.
- Apply model‑based systems engineering (MBSE) as a practical engineering tool, not a documentation exercise, ensuring traceability between requirements, models, analyses, and tests.
- Develop and deliver a 6‑DoF Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) model to PDR standard, in close collaboration with flight physics and avionics engineers.
- Apply closed‑loop control theory in the context of high‑speed flight and military guidance, ensuring controllability, stability, and performance are understood at the system level.
- Integrate vehicle dynamics, control laws, sensors, and actuators into a coherent closed‑loop system representation.
- Identify system‑level risks early particularly around requirements gaps, controllability, observability, and verification — and drive mitigations decisively.
- Act as a technical authority across disciplines, keeping architectural decisions coherent as designs evolve at pace.
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Who You Are
- An experienced Systems Engineer with a strong track record in system architecture, requirements decomposition, and delivery in safety‑ or mission‑critical environments.
- Deeply fluent in model‑based systems engineering, with practical experience owning requirements models and using MBSE to drive real engineering decisions.
- Strong grounding in closed‑loop control theory, applied to high‑speed flight, guidance, and defence or military systems.
- Comfortable developing and working with 6‑DoF flight and GNC models, and understanding their implications at vehicle level.
- Experienced taking systems through early design gates (Kick‑off, PDR), not just theoretical or paper studies.
- Someone who thinks in system behaviours, interfaces, and failure modes, not isolated components.
- Confident operating in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments where decisions must be made with incomplete data.
- Technically credible across disciplines, able to challenge assumptions and close decisions without consensus theatre.
- Motivated by working on systems where performance, robustness, and national‑level impact genuinely matter.
Security and Eligibility Requirement
Due to the nature of the work with the UK MOD, applicants must be a British Citizen (or Dual UK national with British citizenship) and eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC) and, where required, Developed Vetting (DV)
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What We Offer
- A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security.
- Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow.
- High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes.
- A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions.
- A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly.
- Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.
At Hypersonica, every hire raises the bar. We are deliberately small, intensely capable, and deeply mission-driven. If this role feels like a strong fit, or if you believe you bring something exceptional that goes beyond the description, we encourage you to apply.
Hypersonica is an equal-opportunity employer and assesses candidates solely on merit, capability, and potential.
You can apply directly to this role or reach out to Nathan Sweeney, Head of Talent. We review every application and aim to respond to all candidates within two weeks, whether the answer is yes or no.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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