CHIEF SYSTEMS ENGINEER JOB DESCRIPTION

A Chief Systems Engineer owns the entire technical baseline of a defense or aerospace program: requirements, architecture, verification planning, and subcontractor acceptance. The role answers directly to program leadership and carries accountability for engineering cost, schedule, and quality across teams that can span dozens of disciplines and hundreds of contributors. INCOSE certification and familiarity with DoD acquisition frameworks are standard professional markers at this level. Few engineering careers demand this combination of technical depth and executive presence in the same seat.

As the Chief Systems Engineer, you translate customer performance thresholds and DoD acquisition objectives into verified, fielded systems while maintaining end-to-end technical authority over the program baseline. You report to the Program Manager and lead cross-functional engineering teams, major subcontractors, and milestone review processes across the full program lifecycle.

Career Impact: Serving as the single technical authority on a DoD or space program at the £500M-plus or multi-hundred-million-dollar scale builds a record few engineering roles can match, establishing you as a credible Chief Engineer across the defense prime contractor market.

Business Impact: The engineering baseline you maintain directly determines whether a satellite constellation launches on schedule, a weapon system sustainment program passes a critical design review, or a subcontractor delivery is accepted without rework.

Growth Opportunity: The Chief Systems Engineer seat is the recognized path toward Program Director or VP of Engineering in defense primes, with INCOSE Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP) certification serving as the market-facing credential that opens those transitions.

• Define and maintain the program systems engineering management plan, technical budgets, and interface documentation across all program phases.
• Lead milestone technical reviews including system requirements reviews, critical design reviews, and test readiness reviews to established pass/fail criteria.
• Conduct architecture trade studies and analysis of alternatives to evaluate capability versus life cycle cost versus technical availability.
• Oversee requirements flow-down, verification planning, and integration test scenario development spanning hardware, software, and external interfaces.
• Manage technical acceptance and coordination of deliveries from major subcontractors against agreed schedule and quality baselines.
• Partner with program management on earned value management, risk and opportunity tracking, and staffing forecasts to protect program commitments.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to lead engineers and integrated product teams across multi-discipline, multi-location organizations.
• Engage senior customer and stakeholder representatives on architecture decisions, program status, and resolution of complex technical issues.

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering, or equivalent work experience.
• 10 or more years of systems engineering experience on defense or aerospace programs, with demonstrated contributions to hardware and software integration.
• Proven experience leading technical milestone reviews and managing requirements baselines on programs of significant scale and complexity.
• Experience developing and maintaining systems engineering artifacts including technical budgets, interface specifications, and verification matrices.
• Active DoD Secret security clearance or eligibility to obtain one, with U.S. citizenship required.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to present technical material to senior customer and executive audiences.
• Experience managing subcontractor technical deliverables against program cost, schedule, and quality commitments.

• INCOSE certification as a Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) or Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP).
• Experience with spacecraft subsystems development or DoD weapon system sustainment programs, including Integrated Logistics Support planning.
• Earned Value Management System (EVMS) experience on cost-plus or fixed-price government contracts.
• Advanced degree in a technical engineering discipline.

• Requirements baseline stability rate, measuring how often approved requirements are changed after system design review.
• Subcontractor acceptance rate per delivery cycle, reflecting technical coordination and interface control effectiveness.
• Milestone review pass rate on first attempt, tracking readiness of engineering work products against review criteria.
• Earned value cost performance index (CPI) for the engineering work package, attributing schedule and budget adherence to technical leadership decisions.
• Verification closure percentage at each program phase gate, measuring progress through the test and acceptance campaign.
• Typical tools: requirements management (commonly DOORS or equivalent); modeling (commonly MBSE tools, STK, MATLAB/Python for spacecraft programs).

• Base Salary Range: $175,000 to $230,000 annually, depending on clearance level and program scale
• Bonus: Annual performance bonus of 8% to 15% of base salary
• Equity: Stock or RSU grants common at defense primes; varies by employer
• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employee and dependents
• PTO: 3 to 4 weeks annually plus 10 federal holidays
• Common Perks: Clearance sponsorship, tuition reimbursement, INCOSE membership support, 401(k) with employer match

Figures are estimates based on general US market benchmarks and may be outdated. Adjust based on location, company size, and seniority level.

Employment is contingent on successful completion of a background investigation and, where applicable, a drug screening consistent with program security requirements. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, and local law. Reasonable accommodations are available to applicants and employees with disabilities upon request. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States; sponsorship eligibility varies by position and security classification.

The Chief Systems Engineer leads ILS and life cycle sustainment work across conceptual and preliminary design for deterrent systems, including ballistic and cruise missiles, developing reliability analyses, logistics support plans, and maintenance documentation to produce cost-effective, field-supportable weapon systems. Working with designers, division leadership, and cross-sector collaborators, this role shapes the ILS technology roadmap and transitions advanced concepts to programs of record, directly enabling affordable and supportable strategic deterrence capabilities over the full product life cycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide mentorship to a growing team of designers focused on product operations and sustainment during conceptual and preliminary design and technology maturation.
• Contribute to trade studies, architecture development, and systems engineering, including ILS design influence, to produce credible conceptual and preliminary weapon system designs that meet performance, cost, schedule, and risk thresholds.
• Contribute to identification, assessment, and tracking of an ILS technology roadmap and associated existing.
• Develop support system capability gaps to feed technology development and conceptual design processes.
• Operate in an advanced design environment and collaborate across divisions and sectors as required to accomplish team goals.
• Conceptualize and mature new business for growth of the division.
• Transition innovative solutions, technologies, and advanced concepts for strategic deterrence interests to programs of record for product development and fielding.
• Leverage strong ILS engineering analyses to promote cost-effective, affordable, and field-supportable products over their intended life cycle.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Logistics, Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or Mathematics.
• Advanced degree reduces experience requirement.
• INCOSE certification as a Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) and/or SOLE certification as a Certified Master Logistician (CML).
• INCOSE Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP) and/or SOLE Certified Professional Logistician (CPL) preferred.
• Knowledge of ILS and life cycle sustainment methodologies, including reliability, availability, and maintainability, and integrated logistics support planning.
• Proficiency with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software such as Teamcenter and/or SharePoint.
• Proficiency in 3D design and 2D drawing CAD in CATIA and/or NX preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite including Project, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word.
• Strong interpersonal skills with excellent written and oral communication abilities, including the ability to lead group discussions and deliver presentations.
• Ability to learn new subjects, techniques, and software independently.

Embedded within the spacecraft engineering team, the Chief Systems Engineer delivers constellation architecture, design trades, and systems engineering artifacts, including technical budgets, interface documentation, and detailed analyses across the full satellite development lifecycle. Working closely with subcontractors, launch operations, and on-orbit teams, this role builds the technical foundation that enables successful satellite delivery, verification, and sustained constellation performance.

Core Functions

• Lead a team of engineers and subcontractors to develop a constellation of satellites.
• Define and create spacecraft architecture, design trades, and specifications.
• Develop and maintain spacecraft systems engineering artifacts including technical budgets, detailed analyses, and interface documentation.
• Support verification and validation planning and execution throughout various test campaigns.
• Manage subcontractors to hit program milestones and objectives.
• Support the delivery and launch of satellites through on-orbit operations.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Mechanical, or Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent field.
• 10+ years of relevant experience, including specific contributions to spacecraft development, test, and/or operations.
• Expertise in modeling and simulation for spacecraft using tools such as STK and MATLAB/Python.
• Experience with spacecraft testing from component level through AIT.
• Experience with RF payloads such as communications or radar, including antennas and electronics.
• Experience in a startup or small company environment.
• Experience with satellite constellation architecture, development, or operations.
• Expertise in development of technical budgets for vehicle performance.
• Expertise in requirements and verification processes.
• Understanding of spacecraft subsystems and associated components, with detailed design experience in at least one subsystem including avionics, power, propulsion, RF, thermal, or ADCS/GNC.
• Thorough understanding of the space environment, including orbital mechanics, rigid body dynamics, thermal environment and design methods, and radiation environment and design methods.

Reporting to the Functional Area Program Manager, the Chief Systems Engineer shapes overall technical execution and product quality for the Applications Systems Integrator program, leading system architecture development, Analysis of Alternatives, and resolution of complex technical issues across NSG mission services. Partnering with customer leadership, Integrated Program Office representatives, and project leads, this role builds the systems engineering processes and program frameworks that ensure mission capability modernization is delivered on time, with technical alignment across a multi-contractor government environment.

Primary Duties

• Lead or participate in customer and program strategic and tactical planning activities.
• Lead or participate in the development of system architectures to evolve mission services.
• Conduct Analysis of Alternatives and provide data-driven recommendations.
• Assess new technologies for fit-for-use by mission services.
• Translate customer needs into program requirements.
• Lead the shaping of emerging high-priority technical initiatives, establishing a project management framework for seamless handoff to project leads.
• Lead the resolution of complex technical issues and risk management efforts, providing a sound systems engineering approach and an enterprise perspective.
• Proactively engage customer leadership to provide value-added influence on innovative approaches to hard problems.
• Establish effective relationships with customer and Integrated Program Office Technical representatives to ensure program synchronization and technical alignment.
• Monitor and provide assured responses to customer action items and program deficiencies.
• Review and assess engineering products for quality assurance.
• Establish and maintain robust systems engineering processes to achieve consistency across the FA and IPO.
• Provide technical leadership to project leads and engage with the team on project execution.
• Lead program technical forums including engineering review boards and integration forums.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
• SAFe Agilist and PMP certifications preferred.
• 16+ years of systems engineering, systems integration, or systems development experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of recent agency-specific experience.
• 5+ years of technical experience supporting NSG systems, segments, and architectures.
• 4+ years of experience as a systems of systems integrator.
• 3+ years of experience as a chief engineer on a large systems engineering effort.
• 2+ years of experience in emerging NSG capabilities and tradecraft including AAA, SOM, ABI, and OBP.
• 2+ years of experience in cloud technology engineering and migration.
• 1+ years of experience in agile systems engineering and development methods including user story generation, sprint/scrum development, and development backlog management.
• Working knowledge of NSG strategies and portfolio management.
• Demonstrated ability to establish effective relationships with senior-level customers.
• Ability to develop and present effective technical presentations to senior management.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with proven time management and organizational skills.

Sitting at the intersection of technical leadership and programme delivery, the Chief Systems Engineer owns all engineering activity on a large-scale programme of £500M+ scale, overseeing complex requirements baselines, milestone technical reviews, supplier acceptance coordination, and the Systems Engineering Management Plan. Operating across end users, senior stakeholders, programme management, and cross-functional engineering teams at multiple locations, this role delivers the engineering cost, schedule, and technical baseline that enables successful transition from legacy systems to new mission capabilities.

Duties

• Provide technical leadership of all engineering activity on a large-scale programme.
• Oversee complex requirements baselines and service design packages.
• Facilitate and lead all milestone technical reviews and associated work product deliverables.
• Manage technical acceptance and coordination of deliveries from suppliers.
• Present to end users and senior stakeholders, including at executive level.
• Liaise closely with programme management.
• Ensure all engineering teams deliver against defined budget, schedule, and quality milestones, and that all risks are adequately managed, owning the engineering cost, schedule, and technical baseline for the overall programme.
• Develop and maintain the Systems Engineering Management Plan.
• Deliver all engineering work products required from the project.

Experience & Qualifications

• Experience in architecture development across multiple, new, and complex interfaces.
• Experience delivering systems and solutions within service-oriented architectures and associated service management solutions.
• Experience transitioning from legacy systems to new capabilities.
• Experience decomposing system-of-systems architectures and specifying systems at multiple levels.
• Experience specifying systems and services from a user perspective and producing abstract views of detailed internal service design.
• Experience with model-based systems engineering methodologies, tools, and outputs, including DOORS for requirements management.
• Experience designing cloud-based platforms, including large-scale system virtualization and orchestration, preferred.
• Some ITIL experience preferred for understanding framework and best practices.
• Knowledge of Air Traffic Management systems or equivalent domains preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to interact at all levels.
• Ability to lead, encourage, and influence cross-functional and multi-location teams.
• Ability to define new strategies and processes and drive them through to implementation.
• Understanding of various system development methodologies.

A key member of the program engineering organization, the Chief Systems Engineer leads multi-disciplined teams through the full lifecycle of secure systems programs, owning engineering execution from concept and proposal through production, including security architecture development, EVMS, and system performance modeling across Program Protection disciplines. Collaborating across internal program management, IPTs, and external customer counterparts in technical reviews and working group sessions, this role delivers systems that meet program commitments on time and within budget while advancing security and anti-tamper capabilities.

Functions

• Provide engineering program execution and technical leadership for secure systems programs from product concept and proposal development through production.
• Work closely with external and internal customers.
• Provide engineering program management through creation, analysis, and forecasting of program staffing, risk and opportunity management, EVMS, IPT coordination, and issue management.
• Integrate new architectural features into existing products, create system security artifacts, and provide architectural analysis of system security features relating existing systems to future needs and trends.
• Provide technical support for novel and complex architectures leveraging core capabilities and identify opportunities for innovation.
• Develop and maintain analyses to predict overall system performance, error margins, performance budgets, system requirements, error budget trees, and performance modeling, simulation, and analysis.
• Support continuous process improvement efforts of program engineering and systems engineering.
• Develop and analyze security architecture and ensure system security requirements are established, allocated, and maintained.
• Coordinate, write, and deliver technical presentations to internal and external customers.
• Participate in technical peer reviews throughout the product lifecycle, including design, development, integration and test, and flight test requirements verification.

Requirements

• Qualified Six Sigma Specialist.
• Minimum 12 years of related systems engineering experience in one or more Program Protection disciplines including anti-tamper, cyber security, supply chain risk management, software assurance, and/or OPSEC.
• Experience in embedded system design and development.
• Experience leading teams and IPTs.
• Experience in using tools and metrics to manage activities and interface with senior program and functional management.
• Experience conducting critical design reviews, test readiness reviews, and test review boards.
• Earned Value Management experience.

Strong application modernization and cybersecurity compliance depend on the Chief Systems Engineer, who leads custom application development, testing, and technology transition while establishing standards, architectural guidelines, and quality assurance frameworks for software deliverables across a client-facing environment. Based within a team serving both system owners and organizational leadership, this role builds the technical infrastructure, emerging technology research, and governance processes that advance the client's mission capabilities and keep the application environment aligned with information assurance requirements.

Accountabilities

• Establish systems, standards, requirements, guidelines, and quality assurance for software deliverables including conceptual design and architecture, logical database, capacity planning, external interface specifications, data migration plans, and security policy.
• Work with clients to translate business requirements into a logical model that accurately supports and represents the client's use cases.
• Implement compliance procedures according to all applicable cybersecurity and information assurance policies and directives.
• Oversee development of comprehensive test cases covering testing scenarios for normal and degraded operations, pass/fail criteria, performance criteria, capacity planning, measurement criteria, results analysis procedures, and results reporting criteria.
• Perform requirements analysis to capture and incorporate component system-of-systems testing criteria into integration testing scenarios.
• Document implementation of approved changes to system configurations, software, and infrastructure.
• Provide ongoing progress updates to leadership, system owners, and peers regarding the health and status of the environment.
• Research and analyze emerging technologies, techniques, and protocols and make recommendations.
• Assist with procurement of hardware, software, and services.
• Develop advanced technological ideas and guide their development into a final product.
• Serve as organizational spokesperson on advanced projects and programs.
• Act as adviser to management and customers on advanced technical research studies and applications.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 18 years of practical experience in applications and software development.
• Experience with Agile development.
• Knowledge of a wide variety of technologies to host container services and registries and cloud infrastructure.
• Knowledge of best practices including DevOps, continuous deployment, continuous integration services, code repositories, and security vulnerability identification to support cloud infrastructure.
• Experience working with clients to translate business requirements into a logical model.
• Experience developing functional process diagrams.
• Experience complying with applicable security and information assurance and cybersecurity policies and directives.
• Strong writing, reporting, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to perform in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to quickly learn and apply new tools and technologies.
• Adaptability in a constantly changing business landscape.