Lead Systems Engineer - San Diego, CA 1

Serco; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental & Vision

401(k) plan

Tuition reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Serco Inc. is seeking a Lead Systems Engineer to support Navy physical security systems for force protection and anti-terrorism hardware and software. You will lead engineering, CM, refresh planning, and mission support across Access Control, Surveillance, IDS, and related domains.

The role requires DoD experience, top‑secret readiness, and strong cross‑functional collaboration with Navy customers, vendors, and cybersecurity teams. Travel up to 25% may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field is required.
• 10+ years of systems engineering experience in DoD/force protection programs preferred.
• Experience with requirements management, risk assessment, and lifecycle sustainment.
• Strong communication with government customers, vendors, and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead systems engineering activities for Navy security and force protection systems (Access Control, Surveillance, IDS).
• Manage RDT&E efforts including tech evaluation and prototype integration.
• Support test planning, demos, assessments, and fielding readiness activities.
• Control hardware/software baselines and change control; maintain status accounting.
• Develop and manage a Navy security system configuration database and lifecycle timelines.
• Create dashboards to track configuration, modernization, readiness, and risks.
• Perform planning, integration, verification/validation, and risk analyses for total systems.
• Translate requirements into integrated solutions balancing performance, schedule, cost, and cybersecurity.
• Coordinate with Navy customers, vendors, field teams, and cybersecurity teams.
• Review engineering deliverables and documentation for alignment with requirements.
• Identify risks and obsolescence issues; propose corrective actions and modernization priorities.
• Prepare briefings and decision packages for leadership and stakeholders.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to systems engineers.

Skills

Systems engineering principles

Requirements management

Risk management

Technical communication

DoD / Navy experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a technical field

Tools

SysML

BI dashboards

Job description

Lead Systems Engineer – Navy Security Systems / Force Protection and Anti-Terrorism Hardware and Software

As the Lead Systems Engineer supporting our Navy Physical Security Systems work, you will be part of a dynamic team providing systems engineering, configuration management, technology refresh, and mission support for Navy physical and electronic security supporting force protection and anti‑terrorism systems.

In This Role, You Will

• Lead systems engineering activities supporting Navy physical and electronic security for force protection and anti‑terrorism systems. Systems include (but not limited to) Access Control, Surveillance, Intrusion Detection, Perimeter & Infrastructure, and Command & Control.
• Lead and manage RDT&E efforts, including evaluation of emerging technologies, technology refresh planning, prototype assessment, integration analysis, and transition support.
• Support test and evaluation planning, technology demonstrations, system assessments, engineering reviews, and fielding readiness activities.
• Manage system hardware and software baselines, including configuration identification, change control, status accounting, and configuration verification activities.
• Develop, maintain, and manage a systems configuration database for Navy physical and electronic security systems, including hardware, software, interfaces, site information, lifecycle status, and configuration relationships, for drawings, HW and SW system versions, end of life/end of support tracking, and technical refresh/reset timelines and rollouts.
• Develop and manage a status dashboard to provide visibility into system configuration, modernization status, operational readiness, technology refresh priorities, risks, issues, and customer decision points.
• Perform technical planning, system integration, verification and validation, risk analysis, supportability analysis, and effectiveness analysis for total systems.
• Translate customer requirements, operational needs, and technical constraints into integrated systems engineering solutions that balance performance, schedule, cost, cybersecurity, and sustainment considerations.
• Coordinate with Navy customers, program stakeholders, vendors, field activities, cybersecurity teams, logisticians, and engineering staff to support system modernization, sustainment, and issue resolution.
• Review engineering deliverables, technical documentation, test artifacts, configuration records, and status reports to ensure alignment with customer requirements and program expectations.
• Identify technical risks, configuration gaps, obsolescence concerns, and system performance issues; recommend corrective actions and modernization priorities.
• Prepare and present technical summaries, dashboards, engineering recommendations, and decision‑support products for program leadership and Navy stakeholders.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and task coordination for systems engineers and other technical team members supporting the PS2 contract.

To Be Successful In This Role, You Will Have

• U.S. Citizenship.
• Active or current DoD Secret clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree in systems engineering. A degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical field maybe substituted provided all other requirements have been met.
• 10 or more years of relevant systems engineering experience supporting Department of War (DoW) contracts, in force protection, physical security, electronic security, command and control, communications, sensors, or related mission systems.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles, requirements management, interface coordination, integration, verification and validation, risk management, and lifecycle sustainment.
• Experience supporting RDT&E, technology assessment, technology refresh, prototype integration, system modernization, or fielding activities.
• Experience managing hardware and software baselines, configuration management processes, engineering change control, configuration status accounting, and associated technical documentation.
• Experience developing or managing technical databases, configuration repositories, dashboards, status trackers, or decision‑support tools.
• Ability to communicate effectively with government customers, technical teams, vendors, and program leadership.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook.
• Ability to travel as needed to support customer meetings, engineering reviews, field activities, or site assessments. (up to 25%)

Additional Desired Experience And Skills

• Master’s degree in systems engineering or other related engineering field.
• Experience supporting Navy physical security, electronic security, access control, intrusion detection, video surveillance, perimeter security, and force protection systems.
• Knowledge of Navy or DoD acquisition, engineering, cybersecurity, logistics, sustainment, and configuration management processes.
• Experience with configuration management tools, database tools, data visualization tools, dashboards, Systems Modeling Language (SysML) and business intelligence platforms.
• Experience supporting system modernization planning, obsolescence management, technology insertion, and lifecycle refresh strategies.
• Experience preparing executive‑level briefings, technical reports, engineering recommendations, and customer decision packages.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary technical teams and coordinating work across geographically dispersed stakeholders.
• Professional certification such as INCOSE ASEP/CSEP, PMP, Security+, or related technical certification.

Company Overview

Serco Inc. (Serco) is the Americas division of Serco Group, plc. In North America, Serco’s 9,000+ employees strive to make an impact every day across 100+ sites in the areas of Defense, Citizen Services, and Transportation. We help our clients deliver vital services more efficiently while increasing the satisfaction of their end customers. Serco serves every branch of the U.S. military, numerous U.S. Federal civilian agencies, the Intelligence Community, the Canadian government, state, provincial and local governments, and commercial clients. While your place may look a little different depending on your role, we know you will find yours here. Wherever you work and whatever you do, we invite you to discover your place in our world. Serco is a place you can count on and where you can make an impact because every contribution matters.

Serco is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.

Pay Transparency

Our Total Rewards package includes competitive pay, performance‑based incentives, and benefits that promote well‑being and work‑life balance—so you can thrive both professionally and personally. Eligible employees also gain access to a wide range of benefits from comprehensive health coverage and health savings accounts to retirement plans, life and disability insurance, and time‑off programs that support work‑life balance. Program availability may vary based on factors such as contract type, location, hire date, and applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Salary range: The range for this position can be found at the top of this posting. This range is provided as a general guideline and represents a good faith estimate across all experience levels. Actual base salary will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to, the scope of the role, relevant experience, job‑related knowledge, education and training, key skills, and geographic market considerations. For roles available in multiple states, the range may vary to reflect differences in local labor markets. In addition to base salary, eligible positions may include other forms of compensation such as annual bonuses or long‑term incentive opportunities.

Benefits – Comprehensible benefits for full‑time employees (part‑time employees receive a limited package tailored to their role)

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Robust vacation and sick leave benefits, and flexible work arrangements where permitted by role or contract
• 401(k) plan that includes employer matching funds
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Life insurance and disability coverage
• Optional coverages that can be purchased, including pet insurance, home and auto insurance, additional life and accident insurance, critical illness insurance, group legal, ID theft protection
• Birth, adoption, parental leave benefits
• Employee Assistance Plan

Serco complies with all applicable state and local leave laws, including providing time off under the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act for eligible Colorado residents, in alignment with our policies and benefit plans.