Principal Software Engineer Lead - High Energy Laser (HEL) Beam Director Product Owner
About The Position
Raytheon is seeking an experienced principal-level software engineer to serve as the product owner of the High Energy Laser (HEL) Beam Director. The role provides senior technical leadership and guidance, disciplined development oversight, coordination across engineering teams, and consistent progress across multiple fast-moving program baselines. The engineer will provide real-time embedded software, EO/IR algorithm, and system-level integration expertise, working with senior architects, technical fellows, systems engineers, and cross-functional technical leads to support integration, verification, and delivery across Archerfish, Apache, and MQ-9 efforts. This position is onsite in McKinney, Texas. Applicants must be in the area or willing to relocate. An active and transferable Secret U.S. government security clearance is required before the start date, and U.S. citizenship is required. The successful candidate must be able to obtain Special Program Access after starting.
Requirements
- Degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM).
- Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of prior relevant engineering experience.
- At least 5–8 years of experience developing or supporting real-time embedded software for mission-critical systems.
- Experience implementing and validating real-time algorithms and supporting software/hardware integration on embedded platforms.
- Experience communicating and collaborating with teams, translating technical considerations into clear and actionable guidance, and working in rapid-execution, multi-baseline programs.
- Active and transferable Secret U.S. government-issued security clearance before the start date, with ability to obtain Special Program Access after starting.
- U.S. citizenship; only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.
Nice To Haves
- Active and transferable U.S. government Top Secret security clearance with Special Program Access.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills.
- Demonstrated ability to guide technical development, mentor engineers, and lead software teams through complex lifecycle activities.
- Effectiveness in rapid-execution, multi-baseline programs.
- Experience with EO/IR or sensor-based targeting systems.
- Familiarity with agile processes, including Scrum, Continuous Integration, and automated testing methods.
- Familiarity with AI-aided development.
- Experience coordinating across multiple product lines or quick-reaction capability programs.
- Formal or informal leadership experience, such as mentoring junior engineers, coordinating technical initiatives, facilitating team collaboration, driving engineering best practices, or guiding peers toward successful delivery.
Responsibilities
- Delegate and review work from lower-level engineers and oversee disciplined implementation of major system algorithms, including tracking, alignment, coordinate transformation, sensor line-of-sight, image alignment, and laser-enabled operations.
- Review code, validate algorithm behavior, communicate technical rationale, and influence engineering practices and procedures to maintain program execution.
- Provide systems thinking and architectural support, including developing CONOPS, specification tree structures, and multi-CSCI decomposition to resolve complex customer-critical issues.
- Work with senior architects and technical fellows to integrate across disciplines and maintain technical momentum with minimal oversight.
- Apply expertise in system-of-systems architecture, inter-CSCI and LRU interfaces, requirement flows, and hardware/software integration to clarify sensor and processing capabilities.
- Lead agile execution of software technical scope across program baselines, including coordinated planning, backlog prioritization, and alignment with product-line objectives.
- Collaborate with senior systems engineers and cross-functional technical leads to support integration, verification, and delivery across Archerfish, Apache, and MQ-9 simultaneous efforts.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Life insurance
- Short-term disability
- Long-term disability
- 401(k) match
- Flexible spending accounts
- Flexible work schedules
- Employee assistance program
- Employee Scholar Program
- Parental leave
- Paid time off
- Holidays
- Relocation offered based on eligibility
- May be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs, depending on position level and collective-bargaining coverage
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
