Project Engineer - 1619

SARA • Colorado Springs, CO

6d • Onsite

About The Position

Scientific Applications & Research Associates, Inc. (SARA) is seeking a Project Engineer to support research and development activities and transition innovative technologies to the DoD, DoE, and their contractors in Colorado Springs, CO. This role offers the opportunity to grow and learn within a multidisciplinary team, contributing from conception through operation. The Project Engineer will own technical execution across multidisciplinary engineering projects, translating high-level direction into tactical engineering plans. While deep subject-matter expertise in every discipline is not required, a strong engineering foundation, sound technical judgment, and the ability to engage credibly across domains are essential. The successful candidate will be adept at understanding technical tradeoffs, asking disciplined engineering questions, identifying weak assumptions, recognizing understated technical risks, and distinguishing real engineering progress from superficial reporting. This role involves decomposing ambiguous objectives into actionable work packages, defining tasks and deliverables, assigning ownership, identifying dependencies, leading technical reviews, managing technical risk, and driving engineering teams to successful project completion. This is a technical engineering leadership role, not purely administrative.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field
• 5 – 7 years of relevant engineering experience
• Demonstrated experience leading technical projects, engineering work packages, multidisciplinary teams, or cross-functional engineering execution efforts
• Demonstrated technical proficiency in an engineering discipline, with a strong foundation in engineering principles, structured problem solving, design, analysis, integration, test, production support, or applied research
• Proven ability to translate high-level or ambiguous direction into executable engineering plans, tasks, deliverables, milestones, ownership assignments, and acceptance criteria
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams while engaging credibly with engineers across multiple technical domains, even when not serving as the subject-matter expert in each discipline
• Ability to evaluate technical plans, identify engineering risks, challenge assumptions, resolve execution gaps, and drive technically sound decisions
• Strong understanding of engineering development, integration, test, production support, technical review processes, and project execution in a structured engineering environment
• Ability to work effectively across engineering teams, project/program management, senior leadership, suppliers, subcontractors, and customer stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to convert complex technical discussions into clear decisions, actions, owners, and execution plans
• US Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance
• May require Moderate physical effort, including standing, sitting, and use of hands while performing duties, and carrying or lifting up to 50 pounds

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering or a related technical field
• 8 – 10 years of relevant engineering experience and project experience
• Significant experience leading complex technical projects, integrated product teams, engineering execution teams, or multidisciplinary technical work packages
• Prior hands-on engineering experience in electrical, mechanical, software, systems, test, manufacturing, physics, applied research, or another technical discipline
• Experience in aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, systems engineering, research and development, or another complex technical environment
• Experience translating contracts, purchase orders, statements of work, proposals, customer requirements, or senior-leadership direction into executable engineering plans
• Experience owning technical execution for complex hardware, software, systems, manufacturing, test, integration, or production-support projects
• Experience leading design reviews, test readiness reviews, customer reviews, technical interchange meetings, internal program reviews, or customer-facing technical discussions
• Experience with requirements management, configuration management, risk management, change control, technical trade studies, verification, validation, test planning, or integration planning
• Experience supporting project planning, resource planning, basis-of-estimate development, schedule development, proposal development, customer technical negotiations, or defense/government contracting execution
• Active DoD Top Secret Clearance

Responsibilities

• Lead technical execution of assigned projects, subsystems, or work packages from initial direction through delivery, including ownership of engineering scope, technical progress, risks, deliverables, and execution outcomes
• Translate high-level direction from senior leadership, customers, contracts, purchase orders, statements of work, and proposed efforts into executable engineering plans for multidisciplinary teams
• Decompose ambiguous technical or program direction into actionable work packages, including tasks, owners, dependencies, milestones, assumptions, acceptance criteria, and required deliverables
• Lead multidisciplinary engineering teams across systems, electrical, mechanical, software, manufacturing, quality, test, and production-support functions
• Apply engineering judgment to evaluate technical plans, design approaches, test strategies, integration plans, risks, tradeoffs, dependencies, and proposed solutions
• Drive technical progress against schedule, budget, requirements, and performance objectives, while ensuring engineering plans are technically coherent and executable
• Identify gaps, ambiguities, conflicts, missing information, unsupported assumptions, weak risk burn-down plans, and unclear acceptance criteria
• Lead design reviews, test readiness reviews, customer reviews, technical interchange meetings, and internal program reviews
• Work with senior leadership, program/project management, customers, suppliers, subcontractors, and technical stakeholders to clarify scope, resolve ambiguity, and drive execution issues to closure
• Maintain project documentation, action items, engineering metrics, decision records, execution plans, risk registers, and technical status reporting
• Lead technical change management activities related to scope, requirements, configuration control, technical trade studies, verification, validation, and integration
• Serve as the technical point of contact for assigned projects, subsystems, or integrated product teams, escalating technical, schedule, resource, or execution risks when needed while driving corrective actions to closure

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance; and other supplemental programs
• A generous PTO program (vacation, sick, holiday)
• Tuition & certification reimbursement
• Flexible work schedules
• Discretionary Employee bonuses
• 401(k) match/profit sharing
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

What This Job Offers

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