Space Vehicle Production Engineer

SAIC•Chantilly, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

SAIC is seeking a Space Vehicle Production Engineer to support innovative space programs in Chantilly, Virginia. The position works on-site with the Government, providing technical and programmatic advice and guidance for a critical space system. The engineer helps ensure that the space vehicle’s mechanical, electrical, and software components function safely and reliably to accomplish the mission. The role supports space vehicle and subsystem engineering across development, production, integration, and test. It includes assessing contractor designs and documentation, overseeing environmental, thermal, and acceptance testing, supporting manufacturing and assembly planning, managing risks and issues, and communicating technical findings and recommendations to Government and industry stakeholders. The engineer serves as a technical point of contact, leads reviews, translates customer needs into engineering requirements, and supports mission design, system trades, and programmatic processes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least 14 years of experience, or a master’s degree and at least 12 years of experience.
Strong satellite systems engineering background.
Experience with major Government acquisition programs.
Extensive experience in one or more of the following: mass properties, mechanical design and analysis, design for manufacturing, optical-mechanical systems, environmental testing, propulsion, mechanisms, guidance and controls, thermal engineering, structures, or aerospace engineering.
Experience with space systems, including developing concepts of operations and mission threads, collaborating with stakeholders on interfaces, conducting trade studies, defining interfaces, and working with developers to mature interface requirements.
Ability to absorb extensive technical detail and formulate logical solutions for execution on inflexible schedules, including when data is conflicting or incomplete.
Knowledge and application of systems engineering processes and functions.
Systems engineering and system integration experience.
Experience with Intelligence Community or Department of Defense Satellite Program Office best practices.
Experience with satellite system requirements development, design, manufacturing, and test.
Excellent interpersonal, leadership, team-building, and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated effectiveness in a Government/contractor team environment.
Ability to facilitate technical discussions with subject matter experts.
Ability to communicate with senior decision-makers from diverse backgrounds and with varying levels of programmatic and technical expertise.
Effective communication, coordination, and customer engagement skills.
Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, dynamic, team environment.
TS/SCI clearance required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Previous SAP experience desired.

Responsibilities

Provide the Government with space vehicle and subsystem engineering support, including recommended inputs and courses of action on technical and programmatic topics.
Oversee environmental, thermal, and acceptance testing to help ensure hardware can withstand launch and orbital conditions.
Assess contractor designs and step-by-step manufacturing, assembly, and integration documentation for flight hardware.
Work with space vehicle design engineers to ensure parts can be reliably built, machined, or assembled on the production floor.
Provide technical leadership to identify, mitigate, and resolve space vehicle and subsystem risks and issues.
Prepare and deliver written reports, risk assessments, recommendations, and presentations to the customer.
Foster communication and alignment among team members to identify challenges and solutions.
Evaluate prime contractor performance at milestone reviews, including compliance with technical requirements and the quality of deliverables.
Support system development from initial requirements verification through mission design, prototype development, and test.
Serve as the main technical point of contact, lead reviews, and translate customer needs into actionable engineering requirements.
Participate in studies and system trades for enhanced capabilities.
Assess contractor designs at major milestone reviews, including progress, risks, issues, and ability to meet mission requirements.
Provide technical support for Government customer activities and programmatic processes.
Develop documents and briefings to communicate work or study status and brief Government and industry as required.