Principal Engineer

Banner-Defense,-Inc.-; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Banner Defense in Huntsville, AL seeks a Principal Engineer to provide engineering oversight for payloads and countermeasures within missile defense programs. You will advise the program office and collaborate across teams to ensure timely, accurate delivery through major milestones.

The role requires a Master’s degree in STEM with 12+ years in defense programs and an active DoD Secret clearance. Travel up to 20% and strong leadership are essential.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a STEM field with 12+ years supporting missile defense or large DoD programs.
• Active DoD Secret clearance, U.S. Citizenship required.
• Experience managing end-to-end program lifecycles for complex systems.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Ability to handle multiple urgent tasks concurrently.
• Travel up to 20% of time.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical expert on payload and countermeasure requirements development, analysis, design, qualification, and fielding.
• Review prime contractor designs, plans, reports, and technical procedures.
• Evaluate target instrumentation requirements, layouts, components, and test methodologies.
• Provide technical evaluation and engineering support during major milestones (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRB, MRB, PAR).
• Lead TIMs and respond to technical inquiries from external MDA organizations.
• Provide assessments to cost analysts to support budgets.

Skills

Missile defense experience

Program lifecycle management

Technical leadership

Systems engineering

DoD/defense programs

Security clearance

Cross‑functional collaboration

Adaptability

Travel readiness

Education

Master’s degree in STEM

Job description

Principal Engineer

Huntsville, AL | Active Secret Clearance

Your expertise. Our nation's defense.

At Banner Defense, you're more than a name on a contract. As a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, we know what it means to serve, and we build our team around people who take pride in protecting those who protect us. Here, your work directly supports the warfighter, your voice is heard, and your growth matters.

Banner Defense is in sea THE OPPORTUNITY rch of a highly skilled Principal Engineer to provide engineering oversight for target system payloads and countermeasure development. In this role, you will act as a trusted advisor to the program office, delivering critical assessments of prime contractor designs, technical plans, and target instrumentation layouts. You will serve as a technical anchor during major program milestones, from System Requirements through Product Acceptance, while seamlessly collaborating across multiple organizations, modeling teams, cost analysts, and schedulers to ensure items are delivered accurately and on time.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Serve as the technical expert on payload and countermeasure requirements development, analysis, design, qualification, and fielding
• Review and provide assessments of prime contractor designs, plans, reports, and technical procedures
• Evaluate target instrumentation requirements, physical layouts, component selection, and testing methodologies
• Provide technical evaluation and engineering support during all major program milestones (including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRB, MRB, and PAR)
• Answer technical inquiries from external MDA organizations and lead multi-disciplinary Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs)
• Provide technical assessments to the cost analysis team to ensure accurate program management budget estimates
• Partner with the program scheduler to track delivery deadlines and proactively keep leadership advised of status.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• Master's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field and 12+ years of experience supporting missile defense or large-scale, complex DoD programs
• Active DoD Secret security clearance, which requires U.S. Citizenship
• Experience managing end-to-end program lifecycles, including the development, testing, and fielding of complex systems
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities change quickly
• Ability to handle multiple urgent tasks at once without losing focus
• Travel is required, up to 20% of the time.

SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO) EMPLOYER

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.