Principal Engineer, Space Payloads - Active Top Secret Clearance

About the Role

Key Responsibilities

• Own the technical baseline: Serve as the authority across systems engineering, hardware, software, and test, ensuring requirements are achieved and the system delivers mission value.
• Lead critical reviews: Chair program gate reviews from SRR through TRR, assessing design maturity, readiness, and risk posture.
• Shape system architecture: Direct the development and integration of architectures spanning payload, ground systems, and mission operations.
• Guide execution: Oversee engineering performance to deliver on cost, schedule, and technical objectives, including subcontractor oversight.
• Champion engineering excellence: Enforce standards, processes, and quality while advancing Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and Digital Engineering.
• Manage risk & opportunity: Own the program Risk Register, proactively mitigating risks and capturing opportunities to improve performance.
• Engage with stakeholders: Act as the primary technical interface with customer technical teams, subcontractors, and leadership.
• Support growth: Contribute to proposals, technical volumes, and reviews, helping shape future opportunities.
• Mentor the next generation: Provide leadership and guidance to engineers across disciplines, fostering collaboration, knowledge transfer, and technical excellence.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or other technical discipline.
• 12+ years of engineering experience, with 8+ years of experience leading engineering teams or organizations.
• Active DoD Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility (current TS/SCI or reinvestigated within the last 6 years).
• Experience leading large-scale proposals, including technical volumes and customer-facing reviews.
• Proven ability to deliver complex aerospace or defense systems on cost, on schedule, and to performance requirements.
• Prior experience as a chief engineer or technical authority on a program of record or major defense contract.
• Strong record of interfacing with senior government customers and building trusted technical relationships.
• Ability to travel up to 25%, and work in classified environments with sensitive program information.

Nice to Have

• Advanced degree in aerospace engineering, systems engineering, or physics.
• Recent experience supporting space missions, with an emphasis on payload integration.
• 5+ years working with EO/IR, radar, or hyperspectral sensor technologies, including performance modeling and exploitation.
• Experience developing command & control, mission planning, or tactical ground systems for space assets.
• Experience with CONOPS development and enterprise-scale architectures.
• Knowledge of advanced data exploitation, machine learning, and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR).
• Leadership in integrating multi-disciplinary engineering efforts across suppliers and subcontractors.
• Hands-on experience applying Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methods.
• Track record of achieving technical, cost, and schedule commitments as a chief engineer or technical lead.
• Ability to build consensus across diverse stakeholders and make decisions under uncertainty.
• Ability to motivate and guide teams without direct authority, achieving alignment across organizations.
• Excellent communication skills for presenting complex technical solutions to varied audiences.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance.

Benefits & Perks

• Opportunities to work on cutting-edge space and defense systems.
• Collaborative and innovative work environment.
• Potential for career growth within a leading space technology company.