Chief Engineer (Clearance Required)

sierraspace; Centennial (CO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Sierra Space in Centennial, CO seeks a Chief Engineer to provide technical leadership across major space programs, maintaining the technical baseline and guiding design, development, and testing. You will chair critical review boards and drive execution of complex multidisciplinary projects to ensure mission success.

Applicants should have advanced engineering degrees and extensive cross-functional experience, with Top Secret clearance and SCI eligibility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field or equivalent
• 16+ years of related experience with multidisciplinary engineering
• Experience leading significant projects and driving engineering decisions
• Ability to translate technical strategies into executable plans and guide execution

Responsibilities

• Chair Engineering Review Boards, ensuring changes are captured in requirements baseline
• Chair Failure Review Boards, adjudicating gaps and determining root cause corrective actions
• Oversee design, development and testing of systems and components across programs
• Provide expert problem-solving and act as final authority on technical issues
• Translate strategies into executable plans and drive innovation across programs

Skills

Technical leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

First principles analysis

Root cause analysis

Excellent communication

Top Secret with SCI eligibility

Strategy development

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Master's or PhD in engineering/aerospace/related discipline

Job description

The Chief Engineer will provide technical leadership and guidance to a major program or programs, ensuring successful technical execution. The primary responsibility of this role is to maintain the technical baseline for the program. This involves overseeing the design, development, and testing of systems and components, solving complex technical problems, and adjudicating gaps in the as-designed versus as-built/as-tested configuration. The Chief Engineer will act as a senior leader within the program team, providing expert technical direction on complex multidisciplinary engineering projects, ensuring technical feasibility to achieve mission success. This position requires multidisciplinary engineering expertise and the ability to build and execute strategies across programs.In this role, you will provide technical leadership and guidance to major programs, ensuring successful technical execution and maintaining the technical baseline for these programs. You will chair program Engineering Review Boards, ensuring changes are appropriately captured in the requirement baseline, and Failure Review Boards, adjudicating gaps and determining root cause corrective actions when qualification or flight hardware, software, or systems do not meet their requirements. You will oversee the design, development, and testing of systems and components while serving as an advisor across all programs and solving the most challenging technical problems spanning multiple initiatives. Driving the resolution of technical issues, you will provide expert-level problem-solving and act as the final authority and decision maker on how to address customer problems. You will take an active role in program milestone meetings and proposals, partnering with IPT Leads for work breakdown tasking and structure. Embodying the company's culture and leadership values, you will act as a catalyst for change, building strategies and identifying steps needed to execute them across programs. You will translate technical strategies into executable plans, making final decisions on technical problems, guiding execution, and ensuring effectiveness. Upholding and modeling company values, you will hold others accountable to these standards while interacting with internal and external executive-level management. You will drive innovation in engineering practices, stay current with emerging technologies, and contribute to the development of technical strategies and roadmaps to support long-term organizational objectives.About YouOur mission is driven by an unyielding commitment to advancing space-based technology in service of our customers and safeguarding national security. We seek individuals who are passionate about innovating beyond boundaries and relentlessly pursuing solutions that protect, preserve and empower - to join us in this critical mission.We're looking for team members who align with our values, mission and goals - while also meeting the minimum qualifications below. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.

Requirements

• Requires bachelor's degree in a related field (or equivalent work experience in lieu of degree or master's +14 yrs experience).
• Typically requires 16+ years of related experience.
• Multidisciplinary engineering expertise and subject matter expert for a single program of significance.
• Demonstrated experience leading significant projects, interacting cross-functionally, and driving engineering decisions.
• Demonstrated use of first principles to plan and execute required analysis for a program life cycle.
• Experience acting as a technical advisor, providing expert guidance and recommendations on complex engineering projects, ensuring technical accuracy and feasibility.
• Upholds and models company values; ability to hold others accountable to values.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• In-depth knowledge of industry standards, regulations, and best practices.
• Able to build strategy; identify and implement the steps needed to execute strategy across programs.
• An active Top Secret with SCI eligibility U.S. Security Clearance is required.
• Master's or Ph.D. in engineering, aerospace, or a related discipline, providing a deeper understanding of complex technical concep

Performance bonus

Additional Information

Sierra Space Careers:At Sierra Space, we build the missions and systems that keep our world secure in the domain above Earth.Sierra Space team members share a spirit of innovation and collaboration and a belief that we can deliver on the boldest missions in space today. Together with our customers, we aim to safeguard our nation, sustain human presence in space, and secure the freedom of operations in low Earth orbit and beyond.Our success is measured by the trust of those who rely on what we build and deliver, and our technologies keep the United States and its allies mission-ready throughout space.We are mission-driven, and together, we are an extraordinary team.

Your Match

How well this role fits your profile.

No H-1B filings for this employer appear in the public Department of Labor record. That is not the same as a refusal to sponsor - smaller employers and first-time filers often have no history, and company names do not always match the filing name. Search the sponsor database .