Operations Lead Engineer

Arcfield•Chantilly, VA

About The Position

Arcfield is seeking an experienced Operations Lead Engineer to support an Enterprise Space Communications Architecture mission. This role offers the chance to join our well-established, tenured Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) team, contributing to the development, troubleshooting, monitoring, and optimization of an evolving next-generation space-ground communications system. The Operations team supports engineering, integration, operation, and sustainment activities for national assets, including worldwide networked ground terminal sites and associated mission support systems. As a senior technical member of our operations team, you will play a critical role in delivering mission success by ensuring optimal performance of space-to-ground data transport systems. You will lead a team of dedicated engineers to maximize system utility and meet performance goals. You will interface with diverse stakeholders—including customers, developers, and contractors—while helping drive technical readiness, system performance, and mission assurance. This position requires an understanding of the Intelligence Community and customer domain, along with a strong focus on core systems engineering processes in support of end-to-end mission and services closure. Arcfield has supported these critical programs for over 40 years and has a proven track record of providing outstanding customer support with consistently high award fees.

Requirements

Must possess and be able to maintain a TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph.
Bachelor’s (or equivalent) in engineering-related field with 12 to 15 years of experience, or Master’s in engineering-related field with 10 to 13 years of experience, or Ph.D. in engineering related field with 10+ years of experience.
Demonstrated experience providing Systems Engineering and Technical Advisory (SETA) support within the Intelligence Community or related domains.
Leadership of medium-size technical teams; optimizing contributions of individual members towards team goals.
Strong background in space/ground communications system operations and systems engineering.
Expertise in evaluating and integrating complex systems, identifying discrepancies, and recommending corrective actions.
Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to distill complex technical information into clear, logical, and concise summaries.
Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills for effective customer and team engagement.
Highly analytical, detail-oriented, and committed to quality, accuracy, and continuous improvement.
Self-motivated with strong initiative and follow-through.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office products for planning and communication.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience with GEOINT and/or SIGINT systems.
Familiarity with Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) / Digital Engineering.
Familiarity with collaboration tools such as SharePoint and Confluence.

Responsibilities

Provide technical and programmatic advisory services during program execution of communication architectures.
Lead a team of 7-8 engineers by assigning tasks and guiding activities, in accordance with customer priorities.
Collaborate with Analysis and User Engagement teams to understand user needs, concepts of operations, requirements, and constraints.
Maintain end-to-end situational awareness of operational systems and report status to senior personnel.
Generate and report utilization, operational availability, and quality-of-service metrics.
Regularly interact with customers, developers, and supporting contractors for technical information exchange, planning, and execution.
Provide system overviews and training to customers and support contractors.
Solicit feedback from system users to ensure system is providing optimal performance.
Exchange technical information with asset management and service desk support teams.
Identify faults and file discrepancy reports; Participate in anomaly resolution activities.
Plan support for user testing activities.
Assess system limitations and develop strategies for optimization and growth.
Recommend and implement process improvements to improve accuracy and efficiency.