Ground Architecture Systems Engineer

Arcfield•Chantilly, VA

About The Position

Arcfield is seeking a Ground Architecture Senior Systems Engineer to provide strategic technical leadership for the Chief Architecture engineering group in a customer organization. The role supports evaluation and guidance of future system architectures that enable activity-based intelligence and accelerated mission delivery to Intelligence Community and Department of Defense customers. The engineer serves as a technical advisor to government and contractor stakeholders and leads enterprise and mission architecture development, systems engineering integration, AI-enabled capability assessments, and modeling and simulation for complex mission systems. The Chief Architecture engineering team leads and coordinates ground enterprise lifecycle systems engineering in the remote sensing domain, including requirements, CONOPS, and architecture development for current and future systems. The position leads architecture and systems engineering activities across complex mission portfolios, establishes model-based systems engineering approaches and standards, and develops technical roadmaps, analyses, assessments, and recommendations. It also provides oversight of integration, verification, validation, testing, configuration management, and technical baseline decisions; facilitates reviews and customer briefings; mentors engineers; and authors high-impact technical documentation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field plus 8–10 years of relevant professional experience; alternatively, a master’s degree plus 6–8 years, or a PhD plus 3–5 years.
Must possess and be able to maintain a TS/SCI with Poly clearance.
Demonstrated technical leadership supporting complex mission systems, enterprise architectures, system-of-systems integration, or major acquisition programs.
Extensive systems engineering experience spanning the full system development life cycle and engineering V model.
Expert-level experience developing and governing MBSE architecture products using Cameo Systems Modeler, SysML, and/or UAF.
Experience leading requirements development, architecture definition, interface management, technical baseline management, trade studies, and risk assessments.
Demonstrated experience leading modeling and simulation analyses using MATLAB, STK, AFSIM, or comparable tools.
Proven experience defining, assessing, or integrating AI/ML-enabled capabilities into complex operational, intelligence, defense, or enterprise environments.
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts and recommendations effectively to senior government leaders, program managers, engineers, and mission stakeholders.
Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, influencing technical strategy, and resolving complex integration and architecture challenges.
Working knowledge of Agile/SAFe methodologies and tools such as Jira and Confluence.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or PhD in Systems Engineering, Engineering Management, Computer Science, Data Science, Aerospace Engineering, or another related technical discipline.
INCOSE Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP), Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP), OMG SysML certification, Cameo certification, or comparable credentials.
Prior experience supporting a Chief Architect office, senior government technical leadership organization, SETA, SEIT, or intelligence-community acquisition program.
Experience establishing digital engineering strategies, architecture governance processes, or enterprise MBSE standards.
Experience with cloud-based mission architectures, data platforms, AI/ML operations, model assurance, or secure deployment of AI-enabled capabilities.
Experience supporting space, intelligence, cyber, GEOINT, SIGINT, OPIR, radar, electro-optical, or other high-consequence national-security missions.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership for systems engineering, mission engineering, enterprise architecture, and system-of-systems integration activities supporting the CA Office.
Lead the definition and evolution of mission, operational, functional, logical, physical, and technical architectures across complex mission portfolios.
Establish and govern MBSE approaches, modeling standards, and model-based architecture products using Cameo Systems Modeler or Cameo Enterprise Architecture, SysML, and UAF.
Lead development of technical roadmaps, architecture strategies, mission-thread analyses, capability assessments, and investment recommendations.
Guide decomposition, traceability, validation, and management of mission and system requirements across multiple integrated programs and stakeholders.
Lead architecture trade studies and evaluate performance, interoperability, affordability, technical maturity, operational risk, and integration impacts.
Define strategies for integrating AI/ML-enabled capabilities into enterprise and mission systems, including data architecture, system interfaces, security, model validation, mission assurance, and lifecycle sustainment considerations.
Direct modeling and simulation analyses using MATLAB, STK, AFSIM, and comparable tools to evaluate system performance, operational concepts, and future architecture alternatives.
Provide technical oversight of integration, verification, validation, test planning, configuration management, and technical baseline decisions.
Lead and facilitate architecture reviews, technical interchange meetings, senior-level customer briefings, and cross-program engineering working groups.
Mentor systems engineers and promote consistent engineering rigor, digital engineering practices, and mission-focused technical decision-making across the organization.
Author and review high-impact technical documentation, including executive briefings, white papers, technical assessments, and decision packages.