R&D Systems Engineer

KBR•Chantilly, VA

9d•$152,600 - $190,700•Onsite

About The Position

KBR is seeking an R&D Systems Engineer to provide Systems Engineering & Technical Advisory (SETA) support to a U.S. Government Program Office focused on developing next-generation national security space systems. The role centers on researching and advancing ground systems that command, control, and process data from satellite constellations. The engineer will bridge legacy ground capabilities and emerging technologies while supporting the lifecycle of satellite edge-computing, processing, and ground systems. The position also involves identifying industry trends and building collaborative relationships with external technology groups, contractors, and internal research teams to bring automation and data orchestration capabilities to the mission. The role is on-site in the Chantilly, Virginia area, with minimal travel (0–20%) and standard working hours. The position requires an active TS/SCI with Polygraph clearance. Candidates hired by KBR's Mission Technology Solutions business before its planned spin-off are expected to transition to Trinzic when the separation is complete without reapplying.

Requirements

Active TS/SCI with Polygraph clearance.
Bachelor’s degree and 5 or more years of relevant experience, or a master’s degree and 3 or more years of relevant experience, or a PhD and 0 or more years of relevant experience.
Demonstrated expertise in satellite ground system architecture, operations, and inference pipelines.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.
Proficiency with Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, and multi-modal LLMs.
Strong critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical capabilities.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

In-depth knowledge of systems engineering and integration as applied to satellite ground networks, command and control systems, and data processing pipelines.
Experience with space-to-ground communications links, data routing, and processing overhead sensor data such as SIGINT or GEOINT.
Familiarity with artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, quantization, hardware and system performance monitoring, and/or data analysis.
Experience evaluating third-party vendor offerings, contributing to requests for proposals (RFPs), or managing technical interfaces with external contractors.

Responsibilities

Conduct technical analysis and review of ground system concepts, architectures, and emerging technologies.
Review and contribute to design, modeling, and analysis for orchestration, task scheduling, and high-throughput data processing.
Evaluate and optimize data processing workflows from satellite downlink and data ingestion through final dissemination.
Assess machine learning and AI integration to improve data exploitation and automate ground system functions.
Implement quantization methods, including GGUF, AWQ, and EXL2, to enable high-performance model execution on local hardware and in resource-constrained environments.
Provide technical and programmatic expertise across concept development, system definition, acquisition planning, design, development, integration and test, and transition to mission operations.
Identify bottlenecks that must be addressed for systems to meet requirements.
Perform alternatives analysis to optimize performance, cost, and schedule for next-generation systems.
Develop pipelines using frameworks such as llama.cpp, vLLM, and/or Ollama.
Participate in an enterprise-wide R&D environment and contribute to and leverage shared knowledge about satellite ground systems.
Scout, vet, and curate state-of-the-art technologies and research organizations.
Recommend academic, commercial, or specialized contractor groups to design and scale operational capabilities.
Prepare written reports, lead group discussions, and deliver oral presentations to senior government stakeholders.