Senior Systems Engineer

SAIC•Aurora, CO

About The Position

SAIC is seeking a Systems Engineer to provide technical advisory support for Launch and Early On-Orbit Test (LEOT) activities involving the Next Generation Geosynchronous, Next Generation Polar, and Medium Earth Orbit missile tracking space systems. The work supports the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Center, System Delta 84 (SYD 84), which acquires Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) and weather space systems for military and intelligence community users. Based at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado and the Boulder Ground Innovation Facility in Boulder, Colorado, the role supports launch readiness, test planning, anomaly resolution, and system characterization. The successful candidate will serve as a subject matter expert in launch and early on-orbit testing of new space vehicles, assist early on-orbit operations, and facilitate transition of assets to the operational community. The role also serves as a liaison among development contractors, military customers, and other government teams, providing technical insights and recommendations for program activities.

Requirements

U.S. citizen with a DoD TS/SCI security clearance.
At least 5 years of experience with a bachelor's degree.
Experience navigating the U.S. Space Force/Air Force acquisition lifecycle.
Experience with Space/Air Force missile warning, tracking, characterization, and/or defense.
DoD acquisition experience and/or demonstrated experience accelerating software project development, integration, and deployment.
Systems engineering experience related to space system programs, including systems test and integration experience.
Ability to recommend and make decisions on projects and action items to achieve program and/or organizational objectives.
Comfort delivering presentations on programmatic and technical matters to government customers.
Excellent interpersonal, leadership, team-building, and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated effectiveness on government and contractor teams.
Ability to work proactively and independently as a member of a highly effective technical team.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Space/Air Force acquisition of space and ground systems.
Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate.
International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) or Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) certificate.

Responsibilities

Advise on launch and early on-orbit operations and transition activities, and promote streamlined development and operational timelines through optimized processes and efficient resource allocation.
Monitor, assess, and provide inputs to the SYD 84 customer regarding ground system flight readiness.
Assess and identify discrepancies in ground system and operational readiness planning for LEOT.
Support integrated LEOT management teams and update management team CONOPS and processes to incorporate efficiencies.
Work with the program contractor to plan and provide EOT training and rehearsals for launch management teams.
Capture and integrate post-launch lessons learned to derive process improvements.
Support long-term EOT planning, CONOPS development, trade studies, and integration of lessons learned for future launch campaigns.
Assist the customer in managing program contractor staffing, skill retention, cost, and schedule for out-year launches.
Monitor, assess, and provide inputs to the government customer on development contractor flight operations support and contractor operations.
Review and assess contractor-proposed supporting documentation, including Test & Evaluation planning, System Engineering Plans, and Test & Evaluation Management Plans.
Assist the government customer in creating strategies, initiating improvements, and executing launch, on-orbit activation, initial operations, and transition of satellites and payloads to the operational user.
Coordinate with the government customer, other government team members, the program contractor, and other stakeholders to execute tasks according to customer priorities.
Organize and participate in working groups, team meetings, studies, and analyses as needed to accomplish customer objectives.