Lead Operations Engineer

Prescient Edge; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Bonus opportunities

Healthcare coverage

Retirement plan (no vesting)

Tuition reimbursement

Career development

Job summary

Prescient Edge is seeking a Lead Operations Engineer to oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of mission systems for manned and unmanned platforms across air, marine, and surface domains. This role blends operational expertise, engineering acumen, system design, solution development, and logistics management to ensure reliability and readiness.

The LOE collaborates with cross-functional teams, reports to the Project Manager and CIO, and travels up to 25% to support design, integration, and deployment

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience with DOD/DHS operational mission systems and project management.
• PMP certification preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field and Master’s degree in business or related study or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, engineer, and document mission system architecture and functional requirements.
• Lead installation, integration, and testing of mission systems across hardware platforms.
• Develop operator training programs to ensure operational readiness.

Skills

DOD/DHS mission systems experience

Project management

Technical design

PMP (preferred)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in technical field

Master’s degree in business or related study

Tools

MS Word

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Benefits

• A competitive salary with performance bonus opportunities.
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits, including medical, vision, dental, and orthodontia coverage.
• A substantial retirement plan with no vesting schedule.
• Career development opportunities, including on-the-job training, tuition reimbursement, and networking.
• Salary range: $130,000 - $150,000. Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills and the abilities of the applicant internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Lead Operations Engineer

Benefits

At Prescient Edge, we believe that acting with integrity and serving our employees is the key to everyone's success. To that end, we provide employees with a best-in-class benefits package that includes:

• A competitive salary with performance bonus opportunities.
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits, including medical, vision, dental, and orthodontia coverage.
• A substantial retirement plan with no vesting schedule.
• Career development opportunities, including on-the-job training, tuition reimbursement, and networking.
• Salary range: $130,000 - $150,000. Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills and the abilities of the applicant internal equity, and alignment with market data.

The Lead Operations Engineer (LOE) is responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle of mission systems supporting manned and unmanned platforms across air, marine, and surface domains. This role combines operational expertise, engineering acumen, system design, solution development, and logistics management to ensure mission systems are reliable, effective, and aligned with organizational and government requirements. The Operations Engineer collaborates with cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions, maintain system integrity, and support operational readiness through technical leadership, hands‑on implementation, and continuous improvement. The LOE is a highly qualified individual that understands projects, managing resources and can conduct in‑depth analysis of systems. The LOE works with the design team to understand the clients business needs, design solutions, coordinate tasks, develop visions, and execute operations. The LOE shall directly support the Project Manager (PjM), Chief Integration Officer (CIO) and work directly with team members to accomplish tasking related to design, integration, and deployment of fleet supported mission systems and ground infrastructure. The LOE shall be a self-starter that is able to deliver products to meet mission execution.

Key Tasks

• Mission System Design & Engineering: Analyze, design, and document mission system architecture and functional requirements, integrating software and hardware solutions for operational platforms.
• System Installation, Integration, & Testing: Lead and support the installation, configuration, and testing of mission systems and software across various hardware platforms, assets, and operational settings by ensuring all systems are properly integrated and validated to meet customer requirements and deliver optimal operational performance.
• Operational Training & Support: Develop and deliver operator training programs for mission systems, including unmanned systems and sensor networks, to ensure effective user adoption and operational readiness.
• Technical Solution Development: Create, configure, test, and validate software applications and scripts to ensure technical readiness for fleet implementation.
• Enterprise Planning & Solution Mapping: Develop and map C5ISR engineering solutions and operational planning documents, aligning technical capabilities with enterprise and government objectives.
• Logistics & Configuration Management: Manage logistics for mission system hardware and software, including installation, shipping, receiving, and configuration tracking to maintain operational availability.
• System Administration & Security: Perform system administration tasks such as user account management, password setup, security scans, and network troubleshooting to ensure system integrity and compliance.
• Customer Support & Troubleshooting: Collaborate with team members and stakeholders to resolve system issues, address customer trouble reports, and ensure usability, reliability, and maintainability.
• Documentation & Reporting: Develop technical documentation, specifications, and reports using MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, supporting system design, operational assessments, and solution development.
• Technology Research & Analysis: Research emerging technologies, conduct Analysis of Alternatives (AoA), and draft system design ideas and plans to drive innovation and continuous improvement.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Compliance: Engage with government and organizational stakeholders, execute Product Owner tasking, maintain required security clearances, and support business relationship building through frequent travel (up to 25%) and professional collaboration.

Requirements

• Detailed-Oriented individual with 8+ years of experience with DOD/DHS operational mission systems, program/project management, and technical design.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in technical field and master’s degree in business, Program Management or similar related study and/or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated success in project execution with strong communication and teamwork skills, effectively delivering strategic objectives under strict deadlines by coordinating operational users, engineering‑adjacent teams, and executive leadership.