Director, Solutions Lead - Space Warfighting

Astrion; El Segundo (CA); Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Astrion seeks a Director, Solutions Lead – Space Warfighting to own the strategic roadmap and act as the senior solution architect for Global Mission Operations, Space Control, Space Access, and Space Energy and Wargaming. The role collaborates with cross-functional teams to shape pursuits and deliver mission-focused solutions.

The ideal candidate has 15+ years in space systems engineering or similar defense markets, with 8+ years in leadership and a proven ability to translate requirements into

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, systems engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, operations research, business, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in solution architecture, space systems engineering, or related defense markets.
• 8+ years of leadership experience managing technical teams or matrixed pursuit teams.
• Proven ability to turn services into repeatable, market-facing Mission Solutions.
• Experience defining roadmaps, MVPs, reference architectures, and deployment patterns.
• Executive communication to senior leadership and external partners.

Responsibilities

• Own the Space Warfighting mission-area solution roadmap across portfolios.
• Serve as the senior solution architect ensuring executable, differentiated approaches.
• Translate customer challenges into MVPs, demos, architectures, and playbooks.
• Lead make/buy/partner recommendations for the SW roadmap.
• Integrate catalog capabilities into SW Mission Solutions and contribute reusable modules.
• Establish governance and criteria to move from concept to scalable offerings.
• Support packaging, pricing, contracts, data rights, and partner roles.

Skills

Solution Architecture

Leadership

Roadmap & MVPs

Executive Communication

US Government Clearance

Stakeholder Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field

Master’s degree (preferred)

Job description

Overview

Director, Solutions Lead – Space Warfighting

LOCATION: Remote, U.S.; supporting El Segundo Office

JOB STATUS: Full-time

CLEARANCE: Top Secret with active SCI eligibility

CERTIFICATION: N/A

TRAVEL: Up to 25%

REPORTS TO: EVP & Mission Area Executive – Space Warfighting

Astrion has an exciting opportunity for a Director, Solutions Lead – Space Warfighting. This senior leader will serve as the strategic solution roadmap owner and senior solution architect for Astrion’s Space Warfighting (SW) mission area, focused on supporting the following portfolios: Global Mission Operations, Space Control, Space Access, and Space Energy and Wargaming.

The Solution Lead will help transform Astrion’s SW business from SETA-heavy labor delivery to repeatable, technology-enabled Mission Solutions that create reusable evidence, tools, data, and recurring outcomes. This leader will partner closely with the Campaign Lead and Business Development Executive for SW, Mission Portfolio Leads, Operations, Growth, other Astrion Solutions leads, Engineering, Finance, Contracts, industry partners, and US and Allied government customers to shape pursuits, make/buy/partner recommendations, build demonstrations and MVPs, and ensure solution investments are tied to qualified pipeline and customer mission outcomes.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, systems engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, operations research, business, or a related field; additional relevant experience may be considered in lieu of degree requirements.
• 15+ years of experience in solution architecture, solution development, space systems engineering, digital engineering, test and evaluation, US and Allied defense markets.
• 8+ years of leadership experience managing technical teams, solution architects, productized-services teams, or matrixed pursuit / engineering teams.
• Demonstrated ability to turn services-based capabilities into repeatable, market-facing Mission Solutions, including reusable artifacts, tools, templates, dashboards, demos, and delivery playbooks.
• Experience defining solution roadmaps, MVPs, reference architectures, implementation patterns, and maturation paths from concept to pilot to repeatable delivery.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering, mission integration, operational test and evaluation, cyber-physical resilience, digital engineering, data / AI
• Experience supporting federal capture, proposal, solution review, or customer-shaping activities with differentiated technical solutions and executable delivery approaches.
• Demonstrated judgment in make/buy/partner decisions, including assessment of internal capability gaps, partner technologies, build vs. buy tradeoffs, and investment priorities.
• Executive communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical solution strategies to customers, operators, growth teams, finance, contracts, partners, and senior leadership.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance with active SCI eligibility.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS

• Masters degree in an engineering or technical discipline
• Experience in space systems development, including space and launch vehicle subsystems, software development, and mod/sim solutions
• Experience with digital twins, model-based systems engineering, AI-enabled decision support, mission-thread modeling, or operational readiness dashboards
• Experience supporting solutions for Allied partners
• Experience with IR&D planning, product management, Agile / MVP delivery, MOSA / open-architecture principles, platform-enabled services, or product-attached professional services.
• Experience supporting M&A diligence or technology acquisition decisions for capability gaps
• Relevant certifications such as INCOSE, PMP, CISSP, cloud certifications, or engineering licensure are a plus.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the Space Warfighting mission-area solution roadmap across Global Mission Operations, Space Control, Space Access, and Space Energy and Wargaming
• Serve as the senior solution architect for the mission area, ensuring priority pursuits have differentiated, executable, and repeatable solution approaches
• Partner with the growth and program leadership team to ensure solution development is tied to 12–36 month pipeline priorities, customer demand signals, and capture strategies
• Translate customer mission challenges into solution concepts, MVPs, demonstrations, reference architectures, technical volumes, delivery playbooks, and post-award transition plans
• Lead make/buy/partner recommendations for the SW solution roadmap
• Integrate Astrion catalog capabilities and tools into SW Mission Solutions where appropriate and contribute reusable SW solution modules into Astrion solution catalog
• Establish solution governance and maturity criteria that move offerings from concept to pilot to repeatable to scalable while avoiding unnecessary bespoke architectures
• Partner with Growth, Finance, Contracts, and Operations to support packaging, pricing, contract type considerations, data rights, partner roles, and product-attached services
• Create customer-facing and internal artifacts, including capability statements, solution briefs, demos, MVP backlogs, white papers, reference architectures, technical differentiators, and proposal language
• Support executive customer engagements by translating Astrion’s mission expertise into clear value propositions, mission outcomes, evidence requirements, and technical roadmaps
• Capture lessons learned from wins, losses, pilots, demos, and program transitions; fold those lessons back into the SW solution roadmap and Astrion Core