Senior Systems Engineer

SAIC•Huntsville, AL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

SAIC is seeking a mid-level Senior Systems Engineer to support the Common Translator (CT), an embedded software module that translates between existing aircraft software and a new Identification, Friend or Foe (IFF) transponder. The position is located in Huntsville, Alabama, and supports safety-critical avionics software developed under DO-178C (DAL C) objectives. The engineer will work closely with software and test engineers to translate operational and certification requirements into system and software requirements, architectures, interfaces, and verification strategies. The role covers systems engineering activities across the lifecycle, including requirements engineering, architecture and interface development, verification and validation, integration and testing, certification support, documentation, and process improvement. It also involves data analysis and testing in customer or third-party laboratories, with some travel.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and five years of experience; an additional four years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Must possess an active Secret security clearance and be able to maintain it.
U.S. citizenship required.
Experience in requirements engineering, including elicitation, analysis, decomposition, allocation, baselining, and traceability.
Experience developing system and software architectures, defining interfaces, and working with multidisciplinary teams to realize designs.
Experience collaborating closely with software engineering teams and discussing software design and implementation trade-offs in the context of requirements.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including impact analysis and resolution of complex integration and requirements issues.
Proficiency with requirements management practices and tools, including traceability matrices, baseline control, and change management.
Clear written and verbal communication skills.
Experience producing technical documentation and participating in formal reviews.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with DO-178B/C concepts and the role of systems engineering and requirements management in safety-critical software development and certification.
Experience in aerospace, avionics, or other safety-critical domains, such as flight displays, flight management systems, or navigation/mission systems.
Knowledge and experience with MIL-STD-1553 databuses, including bus monitoring and analysis.
Experience developing and using Interface Control Documents (ICDs), particularly those related to MIL-STD-1553.
Hands-on experience with requirements management tools, preferably IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS (DOORS Classic or DOORS Next Generation).
Prior experience mentoring engineers or serving as a technical lead for systems and requirements engineering activities.

Responsibilities

Elicit, analyze, and document system-level and software-level requirements for transponder-based capabilities.
Ensure requirements are clear, consistent, testable, and traceable to customer needs, standards, and DO-178C DAL C objectives.
Decompose and allocate system requirements to software components and interfaces, maintaining end-to-end traceability from high-level requirements through design and test.
Manage requirements baselines and changes, including impact analyses on architecture, design, integration, and verification activities.
Maintain requirements traceability matrices and support audits and reviews focused on requirements completeness and consistency.
Develop and refine system and software architectures for CT configurations, including data interfaces and integration with avionics systems.
Define and maintain interface control documents (ICDs) and data models for integration with aircraft flight management systems and other avionics subsystems.
Collaborate with software engineers to ensure architecture and requirements support performance, safety, configurability, and maintainability goals.
Perform data analysis and testing in customer and/or third-party laboratories, including some travel.
Apply DO-178C and related aerospace standards and guidance to systems engineering and requirements activities.
Support development of plans, standards, and guidelines for CT-based solutions, such as requirements standards and architecture guidelines.
Produce and review systems engineering and requirements artifacts that support audits and certification reviews.
Define and maintain verification and validation strategies, including mapping system and software requirements to test plans and procedures.
Develop and review test plans, procedures, and cases to provide coverage of requirements and key operational scenarios.
Support integration and system testing, including anomaly investigation, root cause analysis, and requirements-focused corrective actions.
Work with test engineers to evaluate results, confirm requirement satisfaction, and improve test effectiveness and traceability.
Participate in agile ceremonies, representing systems and requirements engineering concerns.
Collaborate with software engineers, test engineers, and customer stakeholders to refine features and ensure they meet operational needs and certification constraints.
Lead or contribute to technical reviews, including requirements, architecture/design, and test readiness reviews.
Develop and maintain systems engineering documentation, including requirements specifications, architecture descriptions, ICDs, and verification reports.
Ensure systems engineering and requirements artifacts are baselined, controlled, and integrated with configuration management tools and processes.
Identify and help implement improvements to requirements management, architecture practices, verification workflows, processes, and tools.
Support customer interactions and technical presentations, communicating requirements rationale, system capabilities, constraints, and trade-offs.