Lead Systems Engineer

Decision Technologies, Inc.•Arlington, VA

13d•$145,000 - $175,000•Onsite

About The Position

Decision Technologies is seeking an experienced, high-impact Lead Systems Engineer ready to take the next major step in their career trajectory by serving as the principal technical direction engineer embedded within a major U.S. Navy weapon system program office. This is a 100% in-office (Arlington, VA), on-site position sitting inside the Navy program office spaces. This position is not eligible for hybrid or remote work arrangements. This role is tailored for an accomplished surface weapons or combat systems engineer, especially those with direct experience at OEMs and Labs/Warfare Centers who are looking to move beyond isolated subsystem tasks and transition into high-visibility technical leadership across the Navy enterprise. Embedded directly with program leadership, you will partner with the Government Technical Director to steer future weapon capability, analyze real-world operational feedback from the Fleet, and translate emerging threat intelligence into actionable science & technology (S&T) roadmaps for the next generation of surface munitions and ship self-defense capabilities. YOU MUST HAVE AN ACTIVE DOD SECRET CLEARANCE / TOP SECRET PREFERRED

Requirements

Master’s Degree in a science, engineering, technology, or mathematics (STEM) discipline (or Bachelor’s Degree with equivalent demonstrated experience directly with U.S. Navy surface weapon systems or combat systems).
10 years of systems engineering experience with U.S. Navy surface weapon systems, surface combat systems (e.g., SSDS, Aegis), or naval guided munitions.
Active DoD SECRET clearance required (Top Secret eligible preferred); ability to access SIPRNet and handle classified intelligence/threat briefings.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in a science, engineering, technology, or math discipline.
Direct technical experience with Navy terminal defense elements, including the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) and Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) weapon systems, launchers, and guided missile rounds.
Proven track record leading requirements analysis, weapon specification development, and System Engineering Technical Reviews (SETR) according to the NAVSEA Technical Review Manual (TRM).
Practical familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools and architectures (e.g., Cameo Systems Modeler, MagicDraw, SysML, DoDAF).
Working knowledge of weapon-to-combat system interface documentation (ICDs, IRSs), firing policies, and combat system designation loops.
Excellent executive briefing, written communication, and cross-functional leadership skills with the poise to advise military program managers, technical directors, and international steering committees.

Responsibilities

Serve as the Decision Technologies Lead Systems Engineer for U.S. Navy Terminal Defense Systems engineering support.
Drive top-level engineering analysis, architectural roadmapping, and operational alignment across the portfolio.
Lead technical, programmatic, and architectural roadmapping across the entire IWS 11 portfolio.
Identify, evaluate, and transition emerging Science & Technology (S&T) and R&D solutions to formulate future weapon system upgrade evolutions.
Serve as the trusted technical advisor to the Government Technical Director, keeping a constant pulse on real-world operational challenges, Fleet feedback, and live combat engagements to rapidly inform near-term CONOPS and long-term capability baselines.
Analyze cutting-edge threat intelligence and emerging adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) against current and planned surface weapon capabilities to identify gaps, update weapon specifications, and drive survivability solutions.
Direct system-of-systems (SoS) integration studies and interface definitions linking terminal defense weapons (e.g., RAM, CIWS) into ship combat systems (such as SSDS and Aegis) and advanced sensor suites (e.g., SPY-6 EASR).
Interface at the senior executive and Flag/SES levels across PAE Munitions, PAE Mission Systems, OPNAV, warfare centers (NSWC Dahlgren, NSWC Port Hueneme, NAWC China Lake), international cooperative partners, and national security leadership.
Guide the program office’s model-based transition by applying Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) frameworks (SysML, Cameo/MagicDraw), digital threads, and Agile/DevSecOps practices to weapons modernization lifecycles.