Shipyard Human Factors & Systems Engineer - (all Levels)

Saronic · Defense · Austin, TX · Port Alpha

This role focuses on designing and optimizing human flow systems within complex physical and operational environments, such as facilities, venues, and transportation nodes. The engineer will architect queuing strategies, identify and eliminate bottlenecks, and translate behavioral insights into practical system designs. Responsibilities include using data and simulation to model capacity and throughput, defining wayfinding principles, and stress-testing systems for various conditions. The goal is to create intuitive, efficient, and humane experiences that handle peak demand gracefully.

What you'd actually do

  1. Design end-to-end human flow systems across physical environments (facilities, venues, campuses, events, transportation nodes, etc.)
  2. Architect queuing strategies (physical and digital) that optimize both actual and perceived wait times
  3. Identify and eliminate bottlenecks across movement, decision points, and service interactions
  4. Translate behavioral insights into practical, buildable system designs
  5. Partner with engineering, operations, facilities, and product teams to integrate human flow into system architecture

Skills

Required

  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Industrial / Systems Engineering
  • Experience Design (physical environments)
  • Operations Research
  • Architecture or Urban Planning (with operational exposure)
  • Theme parks, airports, transit systems, large venues, manufacturing, or high-scale operations
  • 7+ years designing or operating complex human-centered systems
  • Experience with capacity modeling, service design, or pedestrian flow
  • Familiarity with simulation tools or data-driven decision-making
  • Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority

Nice to have

  • Experience designing systems under extreme peak loads
  • Familiarity with crowd modeling or queuing theory
  • Background in environments where safety is mission-critical
  • Ability to prototype or test concepts quickly in the field
  • A portfolio of systems you’ve designed that still work years later

What the JD emphasized

  • human flow systems
  • queuing strategies
  • practical, buildable system designs
  • wayfinding, signage, pacing, and spatial cues
  • systems