Program Chief Engineer (Lead, Systems Engineer)

L3Harris•Herndon, MD

About The Position

L3Harris is seeking a Program Chief Engineer based in Millersville, Maryland, or Herndon, Virginia. The role is accountable for program engineering technical, cost, and schedule performance, including oversight of engineering design and development, integration, testing, and maintenance of multiple systems. The Chief Engineer shapes and leads the engineering team in executing the program’s engineering content and serves as the program’s primary engineering representative to the SBS Business Unit, working closely with the SBS Chief Engineer and General Manager. The position requires balancing customer cost, schedule, and technical requirements while guiding the engineering team toward successful program deliveries. The Chief Engineer collaborates across organizational boundaries and helps transition programs to production and deployment, maintaining focus on both near- and long-term objectives. The schedule is a 9/80 arrangement, with every other Friday off.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least 9 years of relevant experience; or a graduate degree and at least 7 years of related experience; or, in lieu of a degree, at least 13 years of related experience.
At least 9 years of applicable Aerospace and Defense experience.
At least 9 years leading cross-functional engineering teams through program lifecycles from proposal to production and sustainment, including at least one engineering team leadership assignment.
Ability to obtain a DoD Secret Clearance; U.S. citizenship is required.
Experience transitioning development programs through qualification to production.
Working knowledge of Control Account Management (CAM), Earned Value Management, risk and opportunity management, and engineering metrics reporting.
Ability to use engineering metrics, earned value metrics, and technical inputs to make decisions that improve program technical execution.
Experience in an Integrated Product Team (IPT) environment as a Program Chief Engineer or IPT/CAM on a program or control account with more than $10 million per year of engineering content, excluding material, and more than $40 million per year in total program value, including material.
Bid and proposal experience, including technical volume writing and Basis of Estimate (BOE) review and approval.
Program baselining experience, including review and approval of Work Breakdown Structures (WBSs), work packages, Integrated Master Schedules (IMS), and budgets.
Working knowledge and experience implementing disciplined systems engineering processes.
Experience presenting high-stakes technical briefs to internal and external stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Undersea or subsea systems expertise and experience.
Undersea acoustics or sonar experience.
Fiber optic systems experience.
Experience building and transforming a team to implement disciplined, rigorous engineering processes and execute programs on cost and schedule.
Design for Excellence (DfX) experience, particularly Design for Manufacturability (DfM).
Experience executing DoD and international fixed-price development and qualification programs.
Engineering discipline functional manager experience.
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) experience.
Familiarity with Jira for engineering metrics.
Active U.S. DoD Secret Clearance; U.S. citizenship is required.

Responsibilities

Lead a cross-functional engineering team through the full program lifecycle, including design, development, manufacturing, hardware and software qualification, integration and test, transition to production, production support, and issue resolution.
Be accountable for technical, cost, and schedule performance in program engineering execution.
Direct and oversee integration of mechanical, electrical, and software subsystems and systems, including coordination with internal and external stakeholders.
Provide technical guidance and support toward project goals, including participation in major design and milestone reviews, technical meetings, and project planning sessions.
Establish engineering staffing demands and work plans, coordinating with the matrixed functional engineering organization to assign appropriate resources within schedule and funding constraints.
Promote continuous improvement and best practices.
Guide and review Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) efforts.
Use Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) and engineering metrics to analyze program performance and apply corrective actions.
Support new business pursuits and proposal cost reviews, including consideration of technology readiness, Design to Cost, and resource alignment.