Systems Engineer Senior Staff (Level 5)

Lockheed Martin•Littleton, CO

2d•Onsite

About The Position

At the dawn of a new space age, Lockheed Martin is a pioneer, partner, innovator and builder. Our amazing people are on a mission to make a difference in the world and every day we use our unique skills and experiences to create, design and build solutions to some of the worlds’ hardest engineering problems. Our culture encourages employees to dream big, perform with excellence and create incredible products. We provide the resources, inspiration and focus and if you have the passion and courage to dream big, we want to build a better tomorrow with you. Going to space is just the beginning. It’s what you do when you get there that matters. Lockheed Martin builds the satellites and spacecraft that do amazing things in space for government and commercial customers. Connecting people. Advancing discovery. And protecting what matters most. Lockheed Martin-built satellites give earlier warning of severe weather, connect troops on the battlefield, and deliver GPS directions to a billion people worldwide. Lockheed Martin is looking for a dedicated Systems Engineer to join the team in Waterton, Colorado supporting Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture programs. As the Responsible Systems Engineer (RSE) within the SEIT team at the Waterton, CO campus, you will oversee satellite bus and payload integration, development, and delivery for the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 3 Tracking Layer. This role requires technical leadership in satellite systems design, qualification, and deployment to enable advanced missile tracking capabilities using infrared sensors on a constellation of over 18 space vehicles operating in Low Earth Orbit. The lead will coordinate multi-disciplinary teams, ensure interoperability across the PWSA layers, and support satellite production timelines to meet launch and operational milestones. What does this role look like?

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics or related field (Master or PhD degree preferred)
Minimum 8 years of experience in satellite system design, integration, and test, preferably on space vehicle bus or payload
Knowledge or experience with infrared sensor payload operations and integration on spaceborne platforms
Experience in spacecraft integration, verification/validation, and system engineering for large constellation or national security space programs
Experience with space vehicle subsystems including power, thermal, communications, attitude control, and propulsion
Knowledge or experience with Technical Readiness Level progression, design maturity, risk management, and major milestone review criteria
Demonstrated ability to interface with government customers, prime contractors, and multi-organization technical teams
Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary engineering teams and manage complex project schedules
Experience working with government space agencies or defense programs
Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI Security Clearance, thus US Citizenship is required

Nice To Haves

Deep understanding of Low Earth Orbit satellite constellations or missile warning/tracking satellite systems, and mission data processing chains
Familiarity with interoperability standards across multi-vendor satellite systems
Advanced degree (MS or PhD) with 10 years minimum of professional experience in satellite system architecture
Familiarity with Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture and Tranche 1/2 tracking or transport layers
Background in electro-optical payload architecture, focal plane technology, cryocoolers, missile defense systems, hypersonic threat tracking, or related space surveillance technologies
Experience with production ramp-up, satellite qualification, and launch integration for large-scale constellations
Experience developing or evaluating tracking algorithms, onboard processing, and low-latency tactical data links and satellite communication waveforms (Link 16, S-band)
Strong skills in spacecraft system verification, calibration processes, and ground system operations integration
Prior experience working on multi-vendor, spiral development contracts in highly classified or secure environments
Familiarity with optical communication terminals (OCTs) and maintaining optical inter-satellite links (OISL)
Active TS/SCI security clearance

Responsibilities

Oversee all Space Vehicle performance and integration activities, including support to all satellite testing, culminating in final certification of the satellite for launch
Oversee Subsystem RSEs and Component CPEs for hardware, software, and databases to ensure compliance with the spacecraft technical baseline
Oversee the development and verification of Space Vehicle requirements
Own Space Vehicle product certification
Lead Space Vehicle-level Material Review Board (MRB) and Failure Review Board (FRB) investigations
Lead failure analysis to provide root cause determination and corrective action
Participate in development and execution of critical development program landmark reviews but not limited to SRR/SDR, PDR, CDR, TRRs/TERs, and MSCSR/PMSR
Identify key program risks with actionable mitigation strategies
Work closely with guidance, navigation, and control (GNC), communications, IR mission payload, Bus, and ground system teams to ensure mission performance margins are maintained
Coordinate with Chief Systems Engineer (CSE) and government counterpart to ensure compliance with SDA standards, cybersecurity requirements, digital engineering workflows, and integration test environment
Guide technical planning for environmental test campaigns, spacecraft-level test, and calibration/commissioning procedures
Train and mentor Space Vehicle RSE Delegates for multiple subsystems to support system and subsystem requirement verification board
Travel occasionally as needed to achieve program goals