Product Manager - Safety Critical Systems

About the role

STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionising the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop, and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost-effective — providing operators with a decisive edge in contested environments.
We are focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems — not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe, today.
STARK's autonomous platforms — aerial and maritime — operate in contested, high-stakes environments where safety systems must function without exception. As Product Manager for Safety-Critical Systems, you will own the requirements engineering, roadmap and delivery of the systems that make that guarantee possible: from Flight Termination Systems on our UAVs to fire suppression and recovery on our USVs. This is a hands-on, high-accountability role at the intersection of systems engineering, software engineering and cybersecurity, and the foundation of trust that enables everything STARK ships.  
Own the requirements engineering, roadmap and delivery for all safety-critical systems across STARK's UAV and USV platforms

Lead product-level contributions to Functional Hazard Analyses (FHA) and Fault Tree Analyses (FTA), translating identified risks into concrete product requirements

Serve as the product bridge between cybersecurity and safety engineering

Champion a "Digital Thread" for safety: end-to-end traceability from high-level system safety requirements through development, verification, and post-mission analysis

Define architectures that are mass-scalable and cost-effective — not bespoke, one-off solutions — enabling STARK to deploy safe autonomous systems at scale

Collaborate with systems engineers, system safety engineers, certification leads, and executive stakeholders to drive design decisions and communicate risk clearly

Drive the company's "Digital-First Safety" posture, ensuring compliance with applicable standards (e.g. SIL-2/3, DO-178C, IEC 61508) while maintaining architectural resilience against emerging threats.

Shape STARK's approach to safe agentic autonomy — ensuring increasingly autonomous behaviour remains deterministic and verifiable

Degree (B.Sc. or M.Sc.) in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related technical discipline

Proven track record as a Product Manager, Product Owner, or Systems Engineer delivering complex hardware/software systems under rigorous safety or regulatory standards

Deep working knowledge of safety standards and methodologies, e.g. IEC 61508, DO-178C, DO-254, ISO 26262, FHA, FTA

Experience taking a hardware/software product from concept through certification and into field deployment

Technical fluency in safety architecture concepts: redundancy topologies, dissimilar architectures, real-time operating systems

Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional delivery activities and drive decisions in ambiguous, high-stakes technical environments

Eligible to obtain appropriate security clearance for defence work

Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and standards such as MOSA or FACE

Background in cybersecurity — particularly in understanding how offensive threat models translate into safety requirements

Familiarity with autonomous systems or UAV/USV platforms

Experience in a scaling defence-tech or aerospace startup environment

If you're interested in building the future of European Defence with us, and you see yourself reflected on the description above, please send us your  CV in English . We´re looking forward to meeting you!