Lead Systems Realization Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is seeking a Lead Systems Realization Engineer to drive the physical credibility and architectural resilience of strategic weapon systems. This role operates within the System Realization and Resilience Group, serving as a core technical anchor for the mission area. The position integrates specialty engineering, multi-physics analysis, and digital engineering across complex system-of-systems. The team values technical candor, collaborative leadership, and the ability to merge deep physical calculations with disciplined Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). The role involves shaping strategic architectures, leading first-principles technical studies, serving as a trusted technical-direction agent, anchoring the digital thread, communicating with technical authority, and navigating complex technical ecosystems.

Requirements

Possess a Bachelor of Science in a foundational engineering discipline (Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical/Electronic, Nuclear, Chemical, Materials) or applied physical science.
Have 10+ years of relevant quantitative engineering design and analysis experience, including 5+ years in a senior or lead technical capacity with a demonstrable focus on the realization of complex, physical systems.
Possess hands-on, direct experience authoring and maintaining system architecture products within Cameo Enterprise Architect / MagicDraw using SysML.
Have a verified history of developing, running, or extending physics-based, logistics, or statistical models for system-level quantitative performance evaluations.
Are willing and able to travel periodically (up to 10%), primarily to sponsor offices in Northern Virginia, test facilities in Utah, and partner military or contractor installations.
Hold an active Secret security clearance and are able to get a TS/SCI w.poly clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

Hold an advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in an engineering discipline, applied physics, or a technically rigorous systems engineering curriculum that preserved direct modeling/simulation execution.
Have direct experience with strategic deterrent platforms, strategic missiles, reentry systems, hypersonics, or nuclear command and control (NC2) architectures.
Have familiarity with early-phase DoD acquisition processes, including concept development, Pre-Milestone A trade studies, and program protection planning.
Have experience establishing co-simulation workflows that directly integrate external analysis tools (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink, finite-element or computational fluid dynamics solvers, Python-based statistical suites) into Cameo SysML models.
Hold an active Top Secret clearance or active TS/SCI with polygraph.

Responsibilities

Shape Strategic Architectures: Interrogate and architect advanced weapon concepts using integrated digital engineering frameworks, coupling structural, thermal, flight-dynamics, and reliability analyses directly into Cameo/MagicDraw to ensure designs survive severe operational and threat environments.
Lead First-Principles Technical Studies: Drive, execute, and defend multidisciplinary engineering analyses (e.g., structural-thermal, electromagnetic, nuclear surety, logistics, and statistical margin assessments) that establish the authoritative technical baseline for program sponsors.
Serve as a Trusted Technical-Direction Agent: Establish the technical standard for system design, risk mitigation, and verification regimes. Provide definitive analyses and trade studies against which deviations must be technically justified.
Anchor the Digital Thread: Apply hands-on SysML/MBSE expertise to embed quantitative analysis results, parametric constraints, and performance budgets into a unified digital baseline, ensuring unbroken mathematical traceability from high-level operational requirements through test data reduction.
Communicate with Technical Authority: Deliver high-density briefings and decision-ready technical reports to senior military sponsors, national laboratory partners, and prime contractors, articulating nuanced physical phenomena and trade-offs with absolute clarity.
Navigate Complex Technical Ecosystems: Guide and influence multidisciplinary teams across government, industry, and academia without relying on formal authority, establishing consensus through demonstrated analytical rigor and technical integrity.