Lead Systems Engineer

Eaton’s IS AER FED division is currently seeking a Lead Systems Engineer. This position can be located at our Jackson, MI facility or can be based remotely. Candidates must currently reside in the U.S. and work from a U.S.-based remote location.  

The Vapor Cycle System (VCS) [Refrigeration] Specialist Systems Engineer will lead complex systems development providing direction for the, design, development, analysis, interface, integration, and verification of actively controlled thermal management solutions for the Aerospace market.  This role requires subject matter expertise in Vapor Cycle System architecture definition, technology selection, and component selection trade-offs to oversee the design and strategic development of the thermal system and integration in an aircraft. The role will require the specialist to apply strong team leadership skills, knowledge of market trends, and VCS domain expertise to lead and guide a team through clean sheet system design, or innovation of existing products to meet evolving market demands. The selected candidate must be experienced with System Engineering practices as defined by INCOSE such as system requirement definition and derivation of requirements, system architecture design, system performance budgeting and allocation, development planning, verification planning and specification to sub-system and LRUs, system controls objectives, as well as the aircraft system development process per ARP4754.

The expected annual salary range for this role is $113000 - $165000 a year.  

Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations. 

What you’ll do:

•    Architect and develop new systems to meet customer requirements utilizing the AgileStartsTM development process via cross functional collaboration with customers and an internal team including Systems engineers, product engineers, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Program Management as well as product or process subject matter experts within functional centers of Excellence (CoE) for modeling and simulation, reliability, maintainability, safety, motors, electronics, firmware and software.
•    Execute on systems engineering functional capabilities including requirements development including decomposition, flow-down, and traceability; system architecture design and analysis; project engineering; control system design; system integration and verification; requirements compliance; certification compliance.
•    Prepare and review project related documentation to ensure completeness and quality.
•    Identify and mitigate project technical and schedule risks and quantify impact of realizing the risk.
•    Evaluate design trade-offs using Design for Six Sigma tools.
•    Apply statistical and analytical tools towards effective problem-solving and completion of project activities.  
•    Direct and support other global engineering resources for timely completion of project objectives.
•    Lead structured problem-solving efforts and/ or failure analysis to solve issues in a timely manner.
•    Conduct internal, supplier, and customer design reviews.
•    Decompose system level requirements to sub-system and component level critical to quality (CTQ) requirements. 
•    Generation of intellectual property.
•    Prepare presentations for Eaton leadership and representation at customer meetings as a technical expert.  Highlight issues and manage customer requirements when necessary.
•    Develop standard processes, design standards, working instructions and best practices including the Eaton Aerospace Common Engineering Standards (ACES). 
•    Lead cross functional proposal preparation including creation of technical proposals, risk identification and mitigation planning, strategic project execution planning, engineering schedules, and quote the labor, material, and other direct costs required to execute development programs. 
•    Serve as VCS domain expert for Product Engineering team.  Could be called upon as a consultant for complex assignments across the Division. Provide technical leadership and guidance for an internal system and product engineers and provide technical leadership as part of the IPT to execute on programs.
•    Develop tools, design methods, analysis and verification techniques to ensure efficient and accurate system architectures and predictions.
•    Provide mentoring to systems and product engineers.
•    Complete other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Required (Basic) Qualifications:
•    Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an accredited institution.
•    Minimum of ten (10) years experience in systems, product design, or development in a technical role related Vapor Cycle Systems (Refrigeration).
•    Minimum of three (3) years experience developing Aerospace Vapor Cycle Systems. 
•    Eaton will not consider applicants for employment immigration sponsorship or support for this position. This means that Eaton will not support any "CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT plans, F-1 to H-1B, H-1B cap registration, O-1, E-3, TN status, I-485 job portability, etc.". 
•    This position requires access to export-controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must be a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158.

Preferred Qualifications:
•    Advanced degree in Thermal Systems with specialty in Vapor Cycle Systems from an accredited institution.
•    Minimum of fifteen (15) years experience with Vapor Cycle Systems and components.
•    Minimum of ten (10) years experience in Aerospace VCS systems, product design, development, and/or production design problem resolution experience in a technical role related to the field of Thermal Management.
•    INCOSE certified.
•    Experienced in Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and SysML.
•    Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Green Belt certified.

Skills:

•    Working knowledge of analysis tools, boundary conditions, and constraints to direct and review supporting team member’s work.
•    Ability to compose clear and concise written communication. 
•    Technical leadership skills working with a cross-functional team assigning and delegating tasks to achieve objectives.
•    Strong communication and collaboration with internal and external customers.
•    Detail a system development plan addressing self and cross functionally identified risks.
•    Demonstrated knowledge of market trends specifically associated with the vapor cycle domain.
•    Requirement development including authoring, derivation to lower level requirements through to components with clear traceability, change control, validation, verification, and auditing (DOORS or Jazz).
•    System architecture design and analysis.
•    Systems project engineering.
•    System Safety (FHA / SSA / FTA).
•    System control objective and associated tolerance specification.
•    System integration and verification.
•    Certification compliance – SAE ARP 4754A.
•    Product design and certification aligned with hydraulic and/or electrical actuation components.
•    Analytical tool knowledge of System (1D) and Component (3D) analyses.
•    System Performance Simulation – (EES, Simulink/ Simscape, Amesim, GTsuite).
•    FEA.
•    CFD.
•    Heat transfer analyses.
•    Liquid and multi-phase thermal management component knowledge and performance characteristics.
•    Ability to read and understand Drawings, Specifications, and Requirements.
•    Working knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).
•    Basic review capabilities in CAD (CATIA).
•    Understanding of design evaluation techniques such as reliability analysis, statistical tolerance stack up, Failure Mode and Effect analysis (FMEA), etc.
•    Proficiency in Product Data Management systems for document control and workflow management (ENOVIA).
•    Proficiency in using Microsoft Office Suite tools.

#LI-CB3

All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws. 

The application window for this position is anticipated to close on October 9, 2026.

We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Eaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws.

You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.

To request a disability-related reasonable accommodation to assist you in your job search, application, or interview process, please call us at 1-800-836-6345 to discuss your specific need. Only accommodation requests will be accepted by this phone number.

We know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.