Distinguished Staff Engineer

Job Description Summary

The Advanced Technology Organization (ATO) drives product development through early-stage innovation, new technology introduction (NTI), and New Product Introduction (NPI) across sensing, autonomy, artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), product security, and advanced edge processing hardware. This DSE role works across a highly diverse technical team and partners closely with business-facing teams and product managers to translate advanced technologies into product strategies, development roadmaps, and scalable solutions aligned with market opportunities, customer needs, and product launch objectives.

As a Distinguished Staff Engineer, you will lead the architecture, development, and maturation of secure networking products with built-in security capabilities for real-world applications. You will collaborate across hardware, firmware, software, and systems teams to ensure security is designed into products from concept through deployment. In this role, you will help transition advanced technologies into scalable, certifiable, and deployable product solutions while influencing product security technical roadmaps across GE Aerospace programs.


Active U.S. Government Security Clearance.

Location: Grand Rapids, MI. This is a fully onsite position requiring attendance five days per week. A comprehensive corporate relocation package is available for eligible candidates.

Job Description

Essential Responsibilities

As a Distinguished Staff Engineer, you will:

• Lead the development and integration of advanced networking products and security technologies for GE Aerospace products and platforms.
• Apply secure-by-design principles across hardware, firmware, software, and system architectures for mission-critical networking applications.
• Partner with hardware, software, firmware, networking, and toolchain developers to identify, evaluate, and implement solutions for complex and secure networking product needs.
• Lead medium- to large-scale technical efforts, driving execution from concept definition through implementation and transition into production environments.
• Help mature innovative security and networking capabilities into product-ready solutions that can be deployed across GE Aerospace products.
• Contribute to technical strategy and roadmap definition for secure embedded and networked platforms, aligning innovation with business and product priorities.
• Guide the design and development of resilient system architectures, including vulnerability mitigation and security-focused design approaches.
• Support product security activities such as threat-informed design, attack surface reduction, vulnerability mitigation, and security architecture trade studies.
• Document technical approaches, design outcomes, and innovations through patent applications, technical reports, publications, and internal engineering deliverables.
• Stay current on emerging trends in networking, embedded cybersecurity, secure networking products, platform security, and secure system design, and apply that knowledge to new product opportunities.
• Collaborate across GE Aerospace businesses, engineering teams, and external stakeholders, including U.S. Government agencies.
• Shape and lead technical proposals and response strategies for internal business opportunities and external customers.

Qualifications / Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline with a minimum of 15 years of industry experience
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in the design and development of embedded networked products, such as routers, switches, gateway devices, VPN devices, cable modems, or similar communications/edge platforms.
• Demonstrated experience designing or developing secure embedded systems across hardware, firmware, and software layers.
• Experience with embedded processors or devices such as Xilinx, NXP, Microchip, or similar platforms.
• Experience with embedded software development in environments such as Linux and/or RTOS.
• Experience in networking protocol development and network security, including detailed design and/or implementation of protocols and security capabilities in embedded software or firmware.
• Experience with security architecture and design for embedded or networked systems, including secure boot, roots of trust, trusted execution, cryptographic integration, or similar platform security capabilities.
• Strong programming experience in C/C++ and at least one additional language such as Rust or Ada.
• Experience applying recognized cryptographic standards and guidance, including familiarity with NIST algorithms and standards.
• Location: Grand Rapids, MI. This is a fully onsite position requiring attendance five days per week. A comprehensive corporate relocation package is available for eligible candidates.
• This role requires the successful candidate to have and maintain a US Government Security Clearance; prerequisite for a security clearance is U.S. Citizenship.
• Active U.S. Government Security Clearance.
• Minimum Secret Clearance, with ability to get Top Secret.

Desired Characteristics

• Experience with configuration, testing, and certification of High Assurance and/or Cross Domain Solution products.
• Experience designing and implementing networking protocols including IPv4, IPv6, ARP, ICMP, IGMP, DHCP, TCP, UDP, and NTP.
• Experience implementing and integrating IPsec and IKEv1 and/or IKEv2.
• Experience with hardware-based security technologies such as UEFI, TPM, ARM TrustZone, Secure Boot, or similar root-of-trust technologies.
• Experience with Linux operating system security and platform hardening.
• Experience with cryptographic libraries such as OpenSSL and/or wolfSSL.
• Experience with embedded development in an RTOS environment, such as VxWorks or FreeRTOS.
• Experience with cross-domain solutions, trusted data transfer, or high-assurance architectures.
• Experience with anti-tamper technologies, side-channel analysis, redundancy patterns, and other vulnerability avoidance/mitigation techniques.
• Experience with penetration testing, attack vector analysis, threat modeling, or security validation of embedded and networked products.
• Demonstrated ability to take an idea from concept through productization and deployment.
• Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience with Agile program execution and development methodologies.

The base pay range for this position is $167,000.00 - $223,000.00 USD Annually. The specific pay offered may be influenced by a variety of factors, including the candidate’s experience, education, and skill set. This position is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus based on a percentage of your base salary/ commission based on the plan. This posting is expected to close on 11/30/26.​

GE Aerospace offers comprehensive benefits and programs to support your health and, along with programs like HealthAhead, your physical, emotional, financial and social wellbeing. Healthcare benefits include medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage; access to a Health Coach from GE Aerospace; and the Employee Assistance Program, which provides 24/7 confidential assessment, counseling and referral services. Retirement benefits include the GE Aerospace Retirement Savings Plan, a 401(k) savings plan with company matching contributions and company retirement contributions, as well as access to Fidelity resources and planning consultants. Other benefits include tuition assistance, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, disability insurance, life insurance, and paid time-off for vacation or illness. ​

GE Aerospace (General Electric Company or the Company) and its affiliates each sponsor certain employee benefit plans or programs (i.e., is a “Sponsor”). Each Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, amend, suspend, replace or modify its benefit plans and programs at any time and for any reason, in its sole discretion. No individual has a vested right to any benefit under a Sponsor’s welfare benefit plan or program. This document does not create a contract of employment with any individual.

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#securityclearance

This role requires access to U.S. export-controlled information. Therefore, employment will be contingent upon the ability to prove that you meet the status of a U.S. Person as one of the following: U.S. lawful permanent resident, U.S. Citizen, have been granted asylee or refugee status (i.e., a protected individual under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)).

Additional Information

GE Aerospace will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen (as applicable). Employees may also be subject to random and reasonable-suspicion drug and alcohol testing.