Civil Observing Systems Technical Advisors

The Aerospace Corporation; Reston (VA); Hybrid; USD 156,000 - 234,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Telework options

Relocation assistance

Education assistance

Career development

Inclusive culture

401(k) plan

Job summary

The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a Senior Technical Advisor to lead engineering program management and systems engineering for NOAA NESDIS and USGS SLIs portfolios. You will guide architecture, policy, and partnerships across NASA, NOAA, and other agencies, while mentoring multidisciplinary teams.

This full-time role supports strategic planning, external engagement, and operational readiness, with telework options and domestic/international travel as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an accredited STEM program; 12+ years with civil space programs and mission development.
• Experience with Earth-observation portfolios and federal mission roles (USGS, NASA, NOAA).
• Ability to contribute technical insight to policy development and strategies.
• Strong grasp of commercial partnership strategies for remote sensing products.
• Builds relationships with industry, international agencies, and partners.
• Collaborates across science, engineering, and operations domains.

Responsibilities

• Serve as senior technical advisor to NOAA NESDIS and/or USGS SLI leadership for strategy, planning, and coordination.
• Lead portfolio-level systems engineering, architecture guidance, and integration across missions.
• Support commercial strategy planning, data options, and business models alignment.
• Advise on international activities and partnerships for NOAA/USGS objectives.
• Develop policy implementations aligned with federal directives and program priorities.
• Provide senior technical guidance for new missions and readiness.
• Strengthen interagency partnerships to support future mission architectures.
• Deliver technical guidance for stakeholder communication and engagement.
• Champion data discovery and access, and advocate for ecosystem resilience.
• Provide mentorship to multidisciplinary teams supporting NOAA/USGS missions.

Skills

Technical leadership

Systems engineering

Policy development

Stakeholder engagement

Cross-agency collaboration

Communication

Travel willingness

Security clearance readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

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.

Building on The Aerospace Corporation's reputation as a trusted, impartial advisor with integrity and dedication to mission success, the Civil Systems Group (CSG) combines deep technical expertise with market-leading innovation to help our customers solve complex systems engineering and integration challenges. CSG is organized by core customer-facing lines of business to manage and grow programs within NASA, NOAA, USGS, and NNSA, while extending these capabilities to other civilian federal government agencies fully integrated within Aerospace rules, regulations, processes, values, and behaviors.

We are seeking experienced and mission‑focused Technical Advisors (Senior Project Leader – Engineering Program Management and Systems Engineering) to support strategic, technical, policy, and interagency activities for both the NOAA weather and USGS land imaging enterprise family of systems. These full-time, permanent Technical Advisor positions fall within our Space Based Environmental Sensing Directorate in support of either NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Systems (NESDIS) or USGS Sustainable Land Imaging (SLI) Senior Executive leaders as primary customers. In support of NOAA or USGS leaders, each technical advisor will lean in and be a trusted expert that helps shape future architecture, space, and ground capabilities, provide guidance in and engagement with the commercial space domain, and strengthen partnerships across USGS, NASA, NOAA, government agencies, and other global stakeholders.

Our Space Based Environmental Sensing Directorate provides the Aerospace technical leadership team supporting systems engineering and technical oversight for the NOAA and USGS portfolios. Our efforts are integral to the success of NOAA and USGS developments and implementations, commercial provider partnerships, international activities, and a myriad of other efforts.

What You’ll Be Doing

Provide technical support, insight, and guidance performing the following:

• Serve as senior technical advisor to the NOAA NESDIS and/or USGS SLI senior leadership team, supporting strategic planning, program communication, stakeholder outreach, and cross-team coordination for policy, science, engineering, and operational domains.
• Lead portfolio-level systems engineering, providing technical insight, architecture guidance and innovation, and integration support across missions, ground system architectures, and data and product collections.
• Support planning and execution of the commercial strategy, including engagement with industry providers, assessment of commercial data options and business models, and alignment with long-term programmatic goals, including data and product quality.
• Advise customer leadership on internation activities and strategies, including the development of partnerships supporting NOAA and/or USGS mission objectives
• Develop and guide implementation of policy ensuring alignment with federal directives and NOAA and/or USGS program priorities.
• Provide senior technical guidance for NOAA NESDIS and/or USGS SLI activities, including new mission development, and readiness.
• Build and strengthen partnerships with other federal agencies, to advance interagency coordination that underpins the NOAA and/or USGS enterprise and future mission architecture(s)
• Deliver technical guidance for NOAA and/or USGS communication and interactions with key stakeholders
• Support championing NOAA and/or USGS strategies, user needs advocacy, modernizing data discovery and access, and cultivating partnerships that enhance the sustainability and resilience of weather system capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to multidisciplinary teams supporting NOAA and/or USGS missions

What You Need to be Successful:

Technical Project Management –Systems Engineering

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited program in applicable STEM areas.
• Twelve or more years of increasingly responsible, professional civil space programs, including mission development, operational systems, enterprise architectures, and remote sensing product workflows.
• Experience supporting or working with Earth‑observation portfolios and knowledge of federal mission roles (e.g., USGS, NASA, NOAA).
• Ability to contribute technical insight to policy development, NOAA and/or USGS strategies, including preparation of materials for federal review.
• Strong grasp of commercial partnership strategies and technical capabilities relevant to remote sensing approaches and products.
• Ability to build and maintain productive relationships with commercial industry, international agencies, and mission partners.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across science, engineering, and operations domains.
• Ability to communicate complex technical information clearly across diverse audiences.
• Willing to travel domestically and potentially internationally to customers and partner sites. Approximately 6-8 trips annually.
• Position may require the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• Direct experience within USGS, NASA, or NOAA programs pertaining to Space and ground remote sensing programs and capabilities, including mission, flight and ground systems architectures.
• Direct experience with related commercial industries and marketplaces, including space systems or product workflows.
• Direct experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering and/or remote sensing product teams.
• Direct experience with government to government international bi-lateral exchanges and work planning activities benefiting U.S. civil space and international collaboration.
• Current and Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance.

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 ImpactFoster 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. A few highlights include:

• 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

We are all unique, from various backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other—the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

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.