Program Chief Engineer, RSX (Remote considered)

Long Wall • Long Beach, CA

45d • $190,000 - $275,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Program Chief Engineer for RSX, derived directly from RS1 and GS0, is the ultimate technical authority for Long Wall’s target vehicle product. This role owns the technical baseline, architecture, requirements, configuration, verification strategy, and overall technical mission success of interceptor products. The chief engineer operates as a peer to program management, jointly leading the program while ensuring that technical integrity is never compromised by schedule pressure or external commitments. This role integrates the work of systems engineering, mission assurance, engineering disciplines, and project management into a coherent, defensible technical execution plan. The chief engineer ensures that all technical decisions are traceable, analytically supported, and aligned with customer expectations and mission needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Systems Engineering, or related engineering discipline.
• 12+ years of experience in complex aerospace or defense system development, with significant ownership over systemlevel design, integration, or technical leadership.
• Deep technical fluency across aerospace subsystems (structures, propulsion, avionics, mechanisms, GNC, software, manufacturing).
• Proven ability to define requirements, architecture, ICDs, verification plans, and configuration control structures.
• Strong analytical foundation and ability to challenge designs, analyses, and technical assumptions.
• Demonstrated capability to lead technical teams through ambiguity, rapid development, shifting priorities, and fast paced integration cycles.
• Excellent communication skills for briefing executive leadership, engineering teams, and government customers on technical status, risks, and decisions.
• Strong understanding of reliability, safety, and mission assurance principles for flight critical systems.
• US person status (including US citizens, U.S. permanent residents, individuals granted U.S. asylum status, or individuals admitted in U.S. refugee status) is a required qualification for this position.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience as a system chief engineer, technical director, principal engineer, or equivalent leadership role for missile, interceptor, launch vehicle, or military systems.
• Experience working with the Missile Defense Agency, DoD, or other government customers on technical baseline management.
• Familiarity with government test readiness processes, hazard analyses, and mission assurance frameworks.
• Experience scaling engineering governance from prototype development into rate production or multiple program environments.
• Active or recent security clearance (Secret or above).

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical authority for the RSX product, owning the system architecture, requirements, technical baseline, and verification strategy.
• Define and maintain the system’s technical configuration, ensuring all design changes follow disciplined evaluation and protect system integrity.
• Lead technical decision making across propulsion, avionics, structures, mechanisms, GNC, software, materials, manufacturing engineering, and integration.
• Coordinate closely with systems engineering to maintain requirements traceability, ICDs, architecture, and verification planning.
• Partner with mission assurance to evaluate reliability, safety, and readiness, ensuring technical decisions reflect disciplined risk assessment.
• Work as a peer leader with project management, protecting technical integrity while ensuring realistic schedule and resource alignment.
• Lead technical reviews (architecture, design, integration, verification planning, readiness reviews) and ensure technical artifacts are complete, defensible, and configuration controlled.
• Guide cross discipline engineering teams to ensure development, integration, and test work remains aligned with the technical baseline and long‑term mission needs.
• Resolve cross functional technical issues, adjudicate design trades, and maintain system level coherence across fast paced development cycles.
• Represent the technical state of RSX product to executive leadership, external stakeholders, and government customers, ensuring clarity on risk, maturity, and technical readiness.
• Mentor engineering discipline leads and help grow Long Wall’s technical foundations by establishing standards, processes, and review discipline.
• Support expansion of chief engineering into a fully staffed technical authority function as the company scales across future product lines.

Benefits

• Heavily employer-subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance plans
• Long Wall paid life insurance and LTD coverage
• 4% 401k match
• Student loan repayment assistance program
• Paid parental leave
• Family planning assistance program
• Long Wall paid financial wellness program
• Paid time off for non-exempt employees and flexible vacation policy for exempt employees

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior