Senior Engineer, Systems Engineering

Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to develop distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Job Purpose The Senior Systems Engineer is a key technical leader responsible for the high-level architectural design of the full KARNO generator system’s mechanical, electrical, and fluid hardware, ensuring it satisfies customer and product requirements from concept through delivery. This role owns the translation of customer and product manager inputs into detailed technical requirements and leads the engineering and validation testing effort needed to prove the system out. Working across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and fluid systems disciplines, the Senior Systems Engineer partners closely with project management, production, and manufacturing teams to keep the product on schedule, while also providing technical mentorship to less experienced members of the engineering team, with the ability to step into hands-on design work directly when needed. This role advances KARNO’s development through disciplined systems thinking, clear requirements ownership, and strong cross-functional leadership. AI at Hyliion At Hyliion, AI is core to how we work. We equip every team member with leading AI tools and count on you to use them — to move faster, solve harder problems, and help us realize the full potential of KARNO technology for the world. Duties and Responsibilities System Architecture & Design Lead and execute the high-level architectural design of the full KARNO generator system to satisfy customer requirements Make system-level design trade-offs across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and fluid subsystems Ensure architectural decisions align with performance, cost, manufacturability, and reliability goals Perform system-level assembly layout in 3D CAD to support architectural design and packaging decisions Requirements Definition Lead efforts to convert customer and product manager requests into detailed technical requirements for design execution Ensure requirements are clear, testable, and traceable through the design process Flag conflicts or gaps between customer intent and technical feasibility early Test Planning & Validation Plan and lead the engineering and validation test effort for the KARNO generator system Define test strategies and acceptance criteria that confirm the system meets its requirements Review test results and drive design changes where performance gaps are identified Cross-Functional Program Support Support project management, production, and manufacturing groups to assure on-time delivery of the product Communicate design status, risks, and technical trade-offs to stakeholders across the organization Participate in design reviews and program milestones as the systems-level technical lead Technical Mentorship & Leadership Provide technical mentorship and leadership to younger members of the engineering design team Guide junior engineers through design execution, reviewing their work and unblocking technical issues Step in and perform design work directly when required to keep the program on track Documentation & Communication Maintain clear documentation of system architecture, requirements, and test results Communicate complex system-level trade-offs clearly to cross-functional stakeholders Ensure traceability between customer requirements, design decisions, and validation outcomes Additional duties and responsibilities as assigned, needed, or required for the business. Qualifications Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Qualifications include: Education, Experience and Certifications Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field 5+ years of experience designing mechanical, electrical, or fluid system components for aerospace, automotive, industrial equipment, or similar applications, with demonstrated experience carrying designs beyond laboratory validation into fielded operation; experience with components deployed and operating in field environments is strongly preferred Demonstrated experience resolving competing physical design trade-offs across mechanical, electrical, or fluid subsystems on a complex hardware product Experience serving as a component design owner, with responsibility spanning the full component lifecycle including design, manufacturing quality (e.g., non-conformance disposition), and field support Skills and Abilities Basic foundation in mechanical, electrical, thermal, and controls engineering — whether from a formal engineering degree or equivalent practical experience — combined with strong systems-level thinking across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and fluid disciplines Ability to translate customer and product requirements into detailed technical specifications, grounded in direct experience owning and trading physical hardware constraints Proficiency with MATLAB, Python, Excel, or similar tools for system modeling to support architecture trade studies and to correlate models against test data Ability to support project management, production, and manufacturing teams to keep programs on schedule Demonstrated ability to mentor and provide technical leadership to junior engineers, supported by sufficient hands-on design experience to assume execution responsibilities directly when program needs require it Experience contributing to the planning, design, construction, and execution of engineering tests, with prior exposure to laboratory test equipment; extensive test experience is not required, but some direct exposure is expected Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills across subsystems and disciplines Clear and c