Systems Engineer II -AMDT3 Satellite Ground Systems

Sierra Space•Louisville, CO

About The Position

The Systems Engineer II contributes to the development and implementation of advanced ground system solutions supporting the Space Development Agency’s Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 (AMDT3) program. The role helps align and guide the technical team through a fast-paced, mission-critical development lifecycle, representing the integrated system perspective as segments and subsystems are connected through stakeholder-requirement decomposition, development-artifact traceability, and system validation and verification. The position supports delivery of a compliant, cohesive ground system on an aggressive schedule while tracking performance measures and identifying technical risks early. The engineer specifies, architects, and integrates complex ground system solutions in collaboration with cross-functional teams, government stakeholders, and subject matter experts. Responsibilities include deriving, decomposing, allocating, tracing, and managing ground system requirements and architectures; documenting concepts of operation for ground-to-space mission support; producing artifacts and deliverables for development milestone reviews; and participating in system integration and verification activities to confirm functionality, performance, and readiness for on-orbit operations. The role also supports technical-risk mitigation and continuous improvement, follows established engineering processes and standards while pragmatically streamlining them with senior-engineer guidance, and communicates proactively to maintain stakeholder alignment. The position is suited to someone with a firm grasp of systems engineering principles who is developing expertise in requirements management, architecture development, concept of operations, integration, and verification. Exposure to ground system elements such as command and control, mission operations, data processing, and network or communications infrastructure is beneficial. The role requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret U.S. Security Clearance; U.S. citizenship is required for this clearance-dependent position. Compensation range: $94,090.00–$129,394.75. Sierra Space describes itself as a space and defense technology company providing satellites, spacecraft, and mission systems and components.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or equivalent work experience in lieu of a degree.
Typically 2 or more years of related experience.
Practical understanding of systems engineering principles and practices, including a basic understanding of the systems development lifecycle.
Conceptual knowledge of requirements management and functional-requirement parsing, derivation, and allocation.
Conceptual knowledge of systems architecture, systems integration, and Verification and Validation (V&V) principles.
Clear verbal and written communication of technical concepts and information.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret U.S. Security Clearance; U.S. citizenship is required for the clearance-dependent position.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
Experience with requirements-management and Model Based Systems Engineering tools and frameworks, such as DOORS, CAMEO EA, Rhapsody, Matlab, and SysML.
Understanding of ground systems architecture, including command and control, telemetry processing, data management, and network infrastructure subsystems.
Experience creating, managing, and executing 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.
Familiarity with project-management methodologies, including risk management and technical-performance tracking.
Familiarity with technical baseline and configuration management.
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 Secret U.S. Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

Specify, architect, and integrate 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.
Create artifacts and deliverables to support development milestone reviews.
Participate in system integration and verification activities to assess ground system functionality, performance, and readiness for on-orbit operations.
Track performance measures and identify technical risks early; help develop and execute mitigation strategies.
Contribute to continuous-improvement initiatives and follow established engineering processes and standards, with pragmatic streamlining where appropriate under senior-engineer guidance.
Communicate proactively with team members, customers, and stakeholders to support alignment and execution.