Design Engineer (Warheads)

MATSYS•Sterling, VA

3d•$90,000 - $140,000•Hybrid

About The Position

MATSYS, Inc. is seeking an experienced warhead designer (Engineer) to join its team of high-performing scientists, engineers, and technicians at its Sterling, VA facility. The Design Engineer will own the mechanical design, integration, and testing of warheads and related assemblies in a small, highly collaborative environment. The role requires fast and creative problem-solving, strong judgment under safety, security and compliance constraints, and direct warhead design experience. The position is a hybrid of senior engineering, concept development and test-driven product maturation where the candidate will work across disciplines to integrate warheads into complete weapon systems, with strong preference for experience in unconventional weapon effects and novel lethality mechanisms. By virtue of contract requirements, this position is only open to U.S. citizens.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship with ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, aerospace engineering, materials engineering or closely related field.
Direct experience in product design, including warheads and ordnances/munitions-related engineering
Demonstrated experience integrating warheads into larger weapon or munition systems (e.g., understanding interfaces, environments, and system‑level performance drivers)
Proficiency with modern 3D CAD tools and creation of fully detailed, manufacturable drawings with GD&T
Ability to perform technical trade studies and support design decisions with analysis
Strong understanding of design-for-manufacturability and prototype development
Experience working with cross-functional teams including manufacturing and testing
Ability to work in a small team, take ownership of tasks from concept through test, and communicate clearly with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, including program management

Nice To Haves

Experience with warhead, munition, energetic, or defense-related system design
Experience in a small business, prototyping, or rapid‑development defense environment
Familiarity with configuration control, engineering change management, and technical documentation
Experience transitioning designs from prototyping to production
Knowledge of safety engineering, risk reduction and compliance requirements
Familiarity with weapon system safety and relevant DoD/MIL‑STD environmental and test requirements
Exposure to modeling and simulation tools for lethality, fragmentation, or structural response

Responsibilities

Lead mechanical design and detailed CAD modeling of warheads and lethal payload systems from concept through prototyping, testing, analysis, and transition to production
Design for operational environments, accounting for structural loads, thermal conditions, and dynamic stresses during launch, flight, and target engagement
Incorporate safety and compliance requirements, including insensitive munitions (IM), into all phases of design
Collaborate with modeling and simulation partners to iterate and refine designs based on analytical and test data
Integrate energetic materials and fuzing systems into payload designs, ensuring performance, reliability, and compatibility.
Collaborate with systems, structures, guidance, manufacturing engineers, and program leadership to integrate warheads into missiles, rockets, unmanned systems, and other delivery platforms
Develop and maintain engineering documentation, including specifications, ICDs, test plans and procedures, and technical reports
Plan and execute test activities, including hands-on support for prototype builds, instrumentation, data collection, and reporting.
Provide direct support in a fast-paced prototyping environment, producing design iterations and resolving technical issues
Utilize strong judgment, disciplined documentation, and the ability to balance creative design with stringent technical and operational constraints to support creation of technical data packages that directly transition to manufacturing
Own product development from concept through delivery, ensuring technical performance, quality, and producibility