AI-Enabled Design Lead

The Aerospace Corporation; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 156,000 - 234,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health care and wellness

401(k) Plan with company contributions

Relocation assistance

Education assistance programs

Job summary

The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a Senior Project Leader for Enterprise Systems Engineering in Colorado Springs to lead AI-enabled design initiatives and advance our systems engineering practices across VGCD and ETG, supporting key national missions with diverse stakeholders.

You will direct multi-disciplinary teams, mentor engineers, and drive collaboration with program offices and customers, while shaping strategy and pursuing new business opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, science, or a related technical field.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional engineering/scientific experience in multi-disciplinary environments.
• Leadership experience in AI capability development and AI-enabled design.
• Experience leading cross-functional, cross-organizational teams.
• Excellent communication skills for leadership briefings and reports.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally (5–10%).
• U.S. citizenship and current Top Secret/SCI clearance required.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI-enabled design capability development and automated workflows.
• Serve as focal point for AI-enabled design across ETG and program offices.
• Drive outreach and education on Aerospace AI capabilities.
• Direct complex technical activities and organize multi-disciplinary teams.
• Steer strategy in vehicle and ground conceptual design.
• Identify opportunities and assist management in pursuit of new work.
• Incorporate emerging technologies and industry best practices into designs.
• Expand VGCD relationships with program offices and customers.
• Initiate new program office relationships and define tasking.
• Mentor staff to develop department capabilities.

Skills

Leadership experience

AI capability development

Cross-functional leadership

Systems engineering principles

Education

Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, science, or related technical field

Job description

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation's space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospace's strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise. The division leverages a broad array of engineering disciplines against a dynamic portfolio of programs, customers, and national challenges. EED spans the capability lifecycle from concept and architecture design to performance assessment to application of space and space-enabled capabilities.

The Vehicle and Ground Concepts Department (VGCD) in EED provides space vehicle and ground system preliminary/conceptual design; trade and architecture analysis, modeling, process development and leadership expertise; and tool development in support of conceptual design activities across the space enterprise. As a member of VGCD, you will be designing innovative spacecraft and ground segment solutions to meet the most pressing mission needs of our US Space Force, Intelligence Community, NASA, NOAA, and commercial/international customers.

Work Model: This position will follow an in-person work model at Aerospace’s Colorado Springs, CO location.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Advance the department’s state of the art by leading development and execution of AI-enabled design capabilities, including automated workflows and agentic tools
• Serve as the subdivision focal point for AI-enabled design, investigate urgent technical problems, and establish new partnerships across the Engineering and Technology Group (ETG) and program offices to create revolutionary design capabilities for our team that are both responsive and technically rigorous
• Drive outreach and education of ETG, program offices, customers, and industry on Aerospace AI-enabled design capabilities
• Direct complex technical activities, organize multi-disciplinary project teams, and execute a variety of space and ground conceptual design activities
• Steer and implement strategy in vehicle and ground conceptual design for the department
• Seek, identify, and pursue opportunities for additional, expanded, and new business and assist higher management in the evaluation and pursuit of new opportunities
• Lead efforts to identify and incorporate emerging technologies, commercial capabilities, interoperable solutions, and industry best practices into conceptual designs for space, ground, and network capabilities
• Expand scope of VGCD relationship with program offices and customers, such as SSIO, SWAC, SSDP, and the IC, and leverage department staff and expertise from across ETG to solve complex customer problems
• Initiate new program office relationships to collaboratively define new tasking, create implementation plans, and identify personnel to perform the work based on your knowledge of resources and expertise across the company
• Mentor early career and experienced staff, serving as a role model and technical advisor to an exceptionally talented and highly motivated cadre of architects, analysts, and modelers to develop department capabilities and meet emerging demand for department expertise

What you Need To Be Successful Minimum Requirements

• Senior Project Leader - Enterprise Systems Engineering
• Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, science, or a related technical field
• At least 10 years of increasingly responsible professional engineering/scientific experience, including multi-disciplinary systems engineering and/or program management environments, with a strong command of systems engineering principles
• Leadership experience in AI capability development, application of AI/ML and automation to operational mission execution, and/or AI-enabled design
• Experience initiating and leading cross-functional, cross-organizational teams to plan and execute projects or studies
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present methods and results effectively in leadership briefings, formal reports, and informal communications
• Exceptional time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and schedule commitments
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with employees, customers, acquisition program offices, and contractors
• Exhibit exceptionally high level of innovation, creativeness, and initiative
• Available and willing to travel domestically and/or internationally approx. 5-10%
• A current and active Top Secret/SCI security clearance issued by the U.S. government.
• U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance

How You Can Stand Out

• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) from an accredited program in a relevant engineering discipline
• Demonstrated initiative to innovate, shape, drive, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tasks, projects, or organizations
• Experience in training, mentoring and inspiring staff
• Experience working in partnership with multiple Aerospace program offices and customers
• Strong interpersonal networks with Aerospace and customer organizations that can be leveraged to establish collaborations and obtain sponsorship for projects
• Experience in methods and processes for early life cycle systems engineering, system architecting, and US government system acquisition
• Experience with Intelligence Community systems engineering and programmatic processes, methods, tools, and personnel
• Experience with operational employment of space capabilities in domain areas such as missile warning/missile tracking, precision navigation and timing, space-based environmental monitoring, or space domain awareness

We offer a competitive compensation package

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills. (Min - Max) $155,900.00 - $233,900.00 Pay Basis: Annual

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change
• Engage with Impact
• Foster Innovation
• Deliver Results

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits. Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type.

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan - Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

Equal Opportunity Commitment

Equal Opportunity Commitment The Aerospace Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at [e-mail] . You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.

Right Place

The Aerospace Corporation has over 26 locations nationwide, which allows us to build a workforce that will nurture the best ideas, and generate the most novel innovations and solutions to our nation’s toughest space enterprise challenges.

Right Path

Aerospace covers all stages of the space lifecycle, from concept to operations. We believe our people are our most valuable resource and that’s why we propel our employees forward in their careers through ongoing education, training, and professional development.

Right Purpose

We can all serve a mission much greater than ourselves, and at Aerospace that is exactly what we do. By hiring the industry’s most preeminent scientists and engineers, Aerospace advances emerging technologies that protect some of the most critical missions on Earth and above it.

Return to the Aerospace Careers site. Aerospace employees working in organizations with technical responsibilities are required to obtain a Security Clearance. U.S. citizenship is required for those positions.