Senior Systems Architect — Autonomy
Hold the architecture for autonomous systems that cross divisional boundaries — where a research model, a flight computer, and a defensive control loop all have to agree on the same interface. This is a writing-heavy role: the deliverable is a specification other teams can build against without asking you what you meant.
- Location
- Zürich, Switzerland
- Level
- Senior
- Clearance
- Level 4
- Reference
- ON-AR-1102
- Division
- Advanced Research
- Site
- Secure campus
- Region
- EMEA
- Engagement
- Full-time · On site
- Travel
- Regular — Arlington and Helsinki, short trips
- Reports to
- Chief Architect, Cross-Division Autonomy
What the role is responsible for.
- Own the reference architecture for cross-divisional autonomy: interfaces, failure semantics, degradation behaviour, and the boundary of machine authority.
- Write and maintain the specifications that Aerospace, Defense, and Energy build against.
- Run architecture review for programmes adopting autonomous control, including the authority to send a design back.
- Work with the Ethics & Governance office to keep the human-in-the-loop provisions real rather than nominal.
- Prototype where the specification is uncertain — the group expects architects to still write code.
What we need you to bring.
- Ten or more years designing distributed real-time systems, with at least one safety-critical or mission-critical delivery.
- Fluency in the formal side — state machines, invariants, and the discipline to specify behaviour under partial failure.
- Systems programming depth in C++, Rust, or an equivalent, and the judgement to know when the answer is not more software.
- A record of specifications that other teams actually implemented from.
- Eligibility for sponsored vetting to Level 4.
Useful, not essential.
- Background in flight software, industrial control, or medical device systems.
- Experience with model checking or theorem-assisted verification.
- Prior work spanning a research organisation and a delivery organisation.
We read the preferred list as a description of a useful background, not a checklist. Candidates who meet the required list and none of the preferred are regularly hired.
Who you would be joining.
A small architecture group that sits inside Advanced Research but reports across all nine divisions. Four architects, no direct reports, considerable influence and no line authority — the role works by being right in writing.
What to know before you apply.
Cleared programme detail is withheld until vetting completes. Candidates should expect the working session to involve reviewing a real specification.
All candidates undergo comprehensive vetting. Reasonable accommodation is available at any stage — say so in your first note and it will be arranged. We do not use unverified third-party recruiters, and we never ask a candidate for a fee.