Staff Project Engineer

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS•Chandler, AZ

38d•Onsite

About The Position

The Staff Project Engineer owns the technical execution plan for complex, multi-disciplinary programs spanning software, FPGA, hardware, and manufacturing transition, from concept through development, test, and release to manufacturing. Some of these programs carry heavy ambiguity, schedule risk, or cross-discipline complexity, with no established playbook, and the Staff Project Engineer builds that playbook: defines and improves how the organization plans and tracks execution, and works without a precedent to follow. The role reports directly to the VP, Software Engineering, who delegates authority to set and enforce program schedule commitments across Software, FPGA, and Hardware disciplines organization-wide; FPGA and Hardware engineering leadership co-sponsor that authority, since it covers their organizations too. On assigned programs, the Staff Project Engineer owns the technical execution schedule, and Program Management owns the contract schedule and customer commitments. The Staff Project Engineer and Program Management reconcile the two schedules together, and escalate to the VP, Software Engineering only what they cannot resolve between them. The Staff Project Engineer partners with Software, FPGA, and Hardware Tech Leads, who own technical design and quality, to close the execution gap between architecture and delivery, and influences peer Tech Leads on execution approach, including cases where current practice falls short. The Staff Project Engineer evaluates architecture, estimates, and integration risk with technical depth, but the role's output is a well-sequenced execution plan, not code.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience driving complex, multi-disciplinary engineering programs to schedule under heavy ambiguity: sequencing dependencies, managing risk, and holding cross-functional teams accountable to dates without an established playbook to follow.
Strong technical background in software or systems engineering, enough to evaluate technical estimates, architecture trade-offs, and integration risk. Hands-on coding is not a primary job function.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior technical peers (Senior and Staff-level engineers) and change how a program or organization plans and executes, without formal authority over them.
Proven ability to manage external subcontractors or vendors against schedule and quality commitments.
Strong organizational, planning, and cross-functional communication skills, with comfort driving alignment among engineers, technical leads, and program or business stakeholders.
Experience running contract-driven programs on a waterfall or stage-gate schedule (critical path method, earned value management, milestone and gate reviews), with the judgment to apply Agile/Scrum practices on the specific programs where they fit.
Experience with planning and tracking tools suited to waterfall or stage-gate program environments (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet) and demonstrated ability to build lightweight automation or dashboards, including with AI/agentic tools, to accelerate execution tracking.

Nice To Haves

Experience in satellite communications, RF/modem systems, embedded or FPGA development, or hardware-software integration programs.
Experience in a regulated defense/aerospace manufacturing environment (ITAR, DFARS, AS9100) and familiarity with hardware-to-manufacturing release processes.
Prior experience as a software engineer or technical lead before transitioning into program or technical execution roles.
Experience using AI coding or agent tools to build internal tooling such as schedule trackers, dependency visualizers, or status report generators.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain the integrated program schedule for assigned programs, translating requirements and architecture into a sequenced task and dependency network across software, FPGA, hardware, and manufacturing workstreams, including programs with significant ambiguity or no established planning precedent.
Identify, track, and manage cross-team and cross-discipline dependencies, ensuring downstream work is not blocked and upstream work is sequenced to unblock it.
Own the risk and issue register for program technical execution: identify schedule risk early, drive mitigation plans, and escalate before problems become program-level surprises.
Partner with Software, FPGA, and Hardware Tech Leads, including Senior and Staff-level leads, to translate architecture and design decisions into actionable, estimated, and sequenced engineering tasks and milestones, and influence their approach where current practice falls short.
Track progress against plan at the team and individual task level; identify slipping work early and drive re-planning, re-sequencing, or reallocation with the responsible leads.
Manage third-party and subcontractor deliverables: define delivery expectations and acceptance criteria, track schedule commitments, and hold external partners accountable to dates and quality.
Serve as the primary technical execution point of contact between Software Engineering, FPGA/Hardware Engineering, Manufacturing/Test, and Program Management for assigned programs.
Drive program-level coordination and milestone reviews focused on schedule health, blockers, and cross-team dependencies.
Support the transition from development and test into manufacturing release, ensuring engineering deliverables (documentation, test results, build artifacts) meet manufacturing entry criteria on schedule.
Report program technical status, schedule health, risks, and forecasts to engineering leadership and Program Management on a regular cadence.
Define and improve program execution practices (estimation quality, dependency capture, definition of done, escalation thresholds) across Software, FPGA, and Hardware engineering, and mentor Project Engineers working on individual programs.
Use modern planning tools and agentic AI tools to build lightweight automation and dashboards that accelerate schedule tracking, dependency visualization, and status reporting.