Ground Architecture Senior Project Leader

The Aerospace Corporation; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health care and wellness plans

Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation

Flexible spending accounts

Job summary

The Aerospace Corporation is looking for a Senior Project Leader in Chantilly, Virginia, to guide efforts in applying optical and signals data to national defense needs. This full-time role requires 10+ years in acquisition engineering and proven leadership skills.

Responsibilities include coordinating user needs and leading expert teams, with a focus on enhancing capabilities through technologies like AI/ML. Benefits include comprehensive health care, 401(k) matching, and professional development programs.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of ground or space systems acquisition engineering experience.
• Current and active TS/SCI security clearance with CI polygraph.

Responsibilities

• Guide Aerospace efforts applying optical and signals data to warfighter needs.
• Coordinate across ground and mission enterprise segments.
• Develop and lead subject-matter-expert teams.

Skills

Team Leadership

Acquisition Engineering

User Needs Understanding

AI/ML Technologies

Excellent Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor’s or advanced degree in relevant field

Job description

The Aerospace Corporation seeks a Senior Project Leader to guide Aerospace efforts in applying national systems optical and signals data to warfighter needs as part of the National Reconnaissance Office’s Ground Enterprise Directorate (GED) Chief Architect (CA) office. This full‑time, on‑site position is based in Chantilly, Virginia.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Integrate and represent Aerospace contributions to U.S. Government leadership to build acquisition strategies.
• Coordinate across ground and mission enterprise segments to ensure user needs are understood and satisfied for multi‑phase acquisition efforts.
• Develop and lead Aerospace subject‑matter‑expert teams to mature collection orchestration, signals and imagery processing, and data fusion technologies and systems to meet user community needs.
• Proactively identify technologies, such as AI/ML and automation, for development and integration to enhance existing processing and exploitation capabilities.
• Budget and prioritize Aerospace activities to maximize impact aligned with strategic customer efforts.
• Identify opportunities for Aerospace to lead or contribute to achieving customer strategic priorities.

What You Need to Be Successful

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences or a related technical field.
• 10 or more years of ground or space systems acquisition engineering experience.
• Experience building and leading high‑performing teams of engineering professionals.
• Experience in one or more of the following domains: mission orchestration, optimization, tasking, and processing to provide geospatial and signals intelligence to data users; U.S. Government acquisitions and/or systems engineering; agile software development; or AI/ML and cloud technologies.
• Expertise in intelligence support to warfighting and the unique mission needs and architectures for OTH‑T/LRKC.
• Willingness to travel up to approximately 20% to support customer activities and foster collaboration.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Current and active TS/SCI security clearance with CI polygraph. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

• Advanced degree in image or signals processing, computer science/engineering, systems engineering, electrical engineering, or a related engineering or scientific field.
• Experience and service with United States Combatant Commands (COCOMs).
• Experience with space constellation orchestration strategies, tasking, and optimization.
• Experience with NRO GED, or related customer programs or agencies, particularly I2SPO tools.
• Experience leading cross‑functional, matrixed teams with diverse skill sets.
• Experience in requirements development and analysis, advanced systems architecture development, and new imagery and signal processing technologies.
• Models Based Systems Engineering in support of architecture development.
• Experience with DevSecOps pipeline execution at scale and commercial cloud environments.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans.
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation.
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options.
• 401(k) Plan with company‑paid match.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions.
• Relocation assistance.
• Professional growth and development programs.
• Education assistance programs.

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, sexual orientation, 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.

Employment of employees in technical positions requires obtaining a Security Clearance. U.S. citizenship is required for those positions.