Sr Systems Engineer - Satellite Ground Systems

Sierra Space•Centennial, CO

4d•$143,700 - $197,609

About The Position

The Sr Systems Engineer contributes to developing and implementing advanced ground system solutions for a national missile tracking satellite program. The role provides technical alignment and direction throughout a fast-paced, mission-critical development lifecycle, championing an integrated systems perspective and connecting segments and subsystems through stakeholder-requirement decomposition, traceability, and system validation and verification. The engineer shepherds teams through technical milestones, tracks performance measures, and rapidly identifies and retires technical risks to deliver a compliant, cohesive ground system on an aggressive schedule. The position promotes Systems Engineering principles and applies expertise in requirements management, system architecture, concept of operations, system integration, and system verification, with a focus on ground system elements such as command and control, mission operations, satellite tasking, sensor data processing, and network and communications infrastructure interfacing with the space segment. The engineer leads systems engineering teams in a high-tempo environment and helps develop systems thinking in others, adapting to ambiguity and rapid iteration. Responsibilities include leading the specification, architecture, and integration of complex ground system solutions; collaborating with cross-functional teams, government stakeholders, and subject matter experts; managing ground system requirements and architectures; defining and documenting ground-to-space mission concepts of operation; leading milestone reviews and preparing their artifacts and deliverables; overseeing integration and verification to establish functionality, performance, and readiness for on-orbit operations; managing technical risks and mitigation strategies; and contributing to continuous improvement while following engineering processes and standards pragmatically. Effective, proactive communication with team members, customers, and stakeholders supports execution of the missile warning and tracking mission.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a related field, or equivalent work experience in lieu of a degree; alternatively, a master's degree plus 8 years of experience.
Typically 10 or more years of related experience, or a master's degree plus 8 years of experience.
Expertise in Systems Engineering principles and practices, including comprehensive understanding of the systems development lifecycle.
Progressive experience across the system development lifecycle, including requirements management and functional requirements parsing, derivation, and allocation.
Progressive experience developing systems architecture and performing systems integration, verification, and validation activities.
Demonstrated ability to work and communicate with technical and specialty subject matter expert engineers to drive systems engineering products.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret U.S. Security Clearance; U.S. citizenship is required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
Extensive experience with Requirements Management and Model Based Systems Engineering tools and frameworks, such as DOORS, CAMEO EA, Rhapsody, Matlab, and SysML.
Strong understanding of ground systems architecture, including command and control, telemetry processing, data management, and network infrastructure subsystems.
Proven ability to architect and design ground system solutions, including interface definitions, data flows, and subsystem integration strategies.
Experience creating, managing, and executing comprehensive ground system test plans, including integration testing, end-to-end testing, and operational readiness validation.
Background in software systems engineering and integration test (SW SEIT) for complex ground systems.
Knowledge of Agile and Dev Sec Ops methodologies for ground software development and deployment.
Strong understanding of project management methodologies, including risk management and technical performance tracking.
Strong understanding of technical baseline and configuration management.
Proven experience leading projects and mentoring junior and mid-level engineers.
Experience or certification in INCOSE standards.
Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
Ability to adapt to a fast-paced and dynamic work environment.
Active Top Secret U.S. Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

Lead specification, architecture, and integration of complex ground system solutions.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, government stakeholders, and subject matter experts to understand project requirements and objectives.
Derive, decompose, allocate, trace, and manage ground system requirements and architectures.
Define and document concepts of operation for ground-to-space mission support, including satellite command and control and missile tracking data delivery.
Lead development milestone reviews and create associated artifacts and deliverables.
Oversee system integration and verification activities to ensure ground system functionality, performance, and readiness for on-orbit operations.
Identify and manage technical risks and rapidly develop and execute mitigation strategies.
Track performance measures and guide teams through technical development milestones.
Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and apply engineering processes and standards, streamlining them pragmatically where appropriate.
Communicate proactively with team members, customers, and stakeholders to maintain alignment and support mission execution.
Lead systems engineering teams and help develop systems thinking in others.