Command and Control System Integrator

Horizon Global Partners; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Horizon Global Partners seeks a C2 Systems Integrator in Reston, VA to lead development, delivery, training and sustainment of command-and-control systems. You will bridge operators who depend on the systems with engineers who build them, owning integrated delivery of IT infrastructure, mission software and integration.

The role requires deployment-ready experience in C2 environments, DoD RMF/ATO familiarity, and on-site collaboration with cross-functional teams to ensure mission success.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8+ years of combined operational, program management, or systems integration experience (military service counts).
• Experience managing or contributing to the acquisition, fielding, or sustainment of C2 or other mission-critical systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to brief senior military, government, and industry leaders.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the program's operational voice: translate operator needs, tactics, procedures, and mission requirements into clear, testable engineering requirements.
• Define and defend mission-critical availability, latency, and data-integrity expectations for track, display, and other mission functions.
• Develop and maintain mission-thread and dependency views showing how a failure affects operational users.
• Represent the program in discussions with operational commands, user working groups, and requirements boards.
• Coordinate with Joint and Allied stakeholders on interoperability and data exchange.
• Plan and support OT&E, training, and testing events with realistic environments.

Skills

Operational experience

Air Battle Manager

C2 systems knowledge

RMF/ATO familiarity

Briefing senior leaders

Education

Bachelor's degree in technical field

Job description

Company Description

Horizon Global Partners is a minority-owned small business and 8(a) firm headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 34 offices worldwide. The company collaborates with over 100 locally based partner organizations across the globe, enabling strong regional expertise and responsiveness. Horizon Global Partners provides targeted, proven services in C6i, emerging technologies, data management, and security systems to support complex operational environments. Team members work with clients to assess mission needs and implement tailored solutions that enhance performance and resilience. The organization values partnership, innovation, and a collaborative approach to solving challenging technical and operational problems.

Role Description

We are seeking a C2 expert who has executed the C2 mission from the operator's chair. The ideal candidate is a former or retired USAF Air Battle Manager (or equivalent C2 battle management operator) with hands-on experience in airborne, ground-based, and operations-center C2 environments such as AWACS, the Control and Reporting Center (CRC), Sector Operations Center (SOC) and the Air Operations Center (AOC), and who has since built a track record in leadership, systems integration, test, or training.

This individual will lead the development, delivery, training and sustainment of command-and-control systems. The role bridges two worlds: the operators who depend on these systems in real-world and operations, and the engineers who build and sustain the underlying platform. The C2 Systems Integrator ensures that operational requirements are understood, translated into executable engineering work, tested realistically, and delivered in a form that warfighters can trust to plan, execute and assess their assigned missions. The C2 System Integrator owns integrated delivery and sustainment of the following elements of the C2 System:

• Secure Computing Environment — The IT infrastructure and Services that support the system.
• Mission Software — Operational and tactical level command and control software such as MSCT, ADSI, C2 Core, Voice Communications Systems.
• Integration — Sensors, tactical data links, and radios/communications devices.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Requirements and Mission Alignment

• Serve as the program's operational voice: translate operator needs, tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and mission-thread requirements into clear, testable engineering requirements.
• Define and defend mission-critical availability, latency, and data-integrity expectations for the track, display, and other mission application functions.
• Develop and maintain mission-thread and dependency views showing how a failure in any infrastructure service affects operational users.
• Represent the program in discussions with operational commands, user working groups, and requirements boards.

Joint and Coalition Operations

• Ensure the system supports Joint and coalition employment, including interoperability, data sharing, and releasability considerations across Service and mission-partner boundaries.
• Coordinate with Joint and Allied stakeholders, interoperability certification bodies, and foreign disclosure and security authorities as applicable to fielding and data exchange.
• Plan and track participation in Joint and coalition exercises, interoperability events, and integration demonstrations, including readiness of the underlying infrastructure.

Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) and Training

• Plan, coordinate, and support test events, define test objectives, measures of effectiveness and suitability, entry/exit criteria, and data collection.
• Manage deficiency reporting, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action tracking from test and exercise events through resolution and regression testing.
• Develop and deliver operator and administrator training, including curricula, training environments, user guides, and quick-reference materials; support transition of new capabilities into formal training pipelines.
• Plan realistic training and test environments (for example isolated or simulated environments) that mirror operational configurations without risking the production baseline.

Program Planning and Delivery

• Develop and maintain the integrated master plan and schedule covering hardware installation, cluster validation, service stand-up, application integration, security accreditation, test, training, fielding, and sustainment.
• Own the risk, issue, and dependency registers; chair or support the Change Control Board; and maintain configuration baselines and as-built documentation.
• Plan and coordinate maintenance windows, patch cycles, firmware updates, and failover/disaster recovery exercises so that they do not conflict with operational commitments.

Security, Compliance, and Governance

• Partner with the ISSO/cybersecurity team on Risk Management Framework (RMF) activities, STIG compliance, vulnerability remediation, and Authorization to Operate (ATO) milestones.
• Schedule and govern controlled events such as offline root CA bring-up, certificate issuance ceremonies, and smart card enrollment campaigns.
• Manage budgets, forecasts, and cost/schedule performance reporting; prepare contract deliverables and program reviews for the government customer.
• Manage vendor and subcontractor relationships, including hardware support, software licensing, and application providers.

Required Qualifications

• Prior operational experience as a USAF Air Battle Manager (13B) or equivalent C2 battle-management operator, with direct experience in at least one of: E-3 AWACS, Control and Reporting Center (CRC), Sector Operations Center (SOC) or Air Operations Center (AOC).
• Demonstrated experience with Joint and coalition operations, such as multinational exercises, combined air operations, or Joint force integration.
• Bachelor's degree in a technical or related field and 8+ years of combined operational, program management, or systems integration experience (military service counts toward this requirement).
• Experience managing or contributing to the acquisition, fielding, or sustainment of C2 or other mission-critical systems.
• Working understanding of enterprise IT infrastructure concepts sufficient to sequence work and communicate with engineers.
• Familiarity with DoD RMF/ATO processes, change control, and configuration management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to brief senior military, government, and industry leaders.

• Active DoD Secret clearance at the time of application.
• Effective communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work on-site in cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Operational test and evaluation (OT&E) experience, including test planning, execution, and reporting for C2 or battle-management systems.
• Training experience, such as instructor, evaluator, or training developer roles, including simulator-based and distributed mission training environments.
• Weapons-school or weapons-officer-level tactical expertise, or equivalent senior evaluator experience.
• Experience with C2 data links and tactical data exchange, track management, and common operational picture concepts.
• Experience with Joint interoperability certification and coalition mission-partner environments.
• PMP, PMI-ACP, ITIL, or equivalent certification; DAWIA certification or defense acquisition experience.
• Primarily performed in an office and secure facility environment; may require access to operations floors, radar and communication sites, test sites, or data center spaces.
• Occasional after-hours or weekend availability to support program deadlines.
• OCONUS Travel to operational units, exercise and test locations, and customer or vendor sites as required (25%).