Principal Engineer

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

Job summary

KODA Technologies Inc. in Huntsville, AL seeks a highly skilled Principal Engineer to provide engineering oversight of target-system payloads and countermeasure development.

You will serve as a trusted advisor to the program office, delivering critical assessments of designs, plans, and layouts across major milestones from system requirements through product acceptance. You will collaborate across multiple organizations, modeling teams, cost analysts, and schedulers to ensure items are delivered

Qualifications

• Master's degree in STEM and 12+ years supporting missile defense or large-scale DoD programs.
• Active DoD Secret clearance is required.
• Experience managing end-to-end program lifecycles for complex systems.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Willingness to travel up to 20%.

Responsibilities

• Engineering Oversight & Design Assessment: advise on payload and countermeasure requirements, analysis, and fielding.
• Program Milestone & Lifecycle Support: provide evaluation during SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and other reviews.
• Program Management & Operations Collaboration: assist cost analysts and schedulers to align schedules and budgets.

Skills

Active DoD Secret clearance

Program lifecycle management

Systems engineering oversight

Cross-organizational collaboration

Education

Master's degree in STEM

12+ years missile defense/DoD programs

Job description

Company Overview

KODA is a people-first company and a three-time Fortune Best Workplace®, Great Place to Work® certified, a Best Place for Working Parents®, and a seven-time Huntsville Best Places to Work® winner.

We're a Small Business Making a Big Impact On National-priority Missions In Missile Defense, Hypersonics, DoD Space, And Civil Space. At KODA, You'll Find

• Competitive pay & great benefits
• Career growth & professional development
• A culture of trust, integrity, and teamwork

The name KODA, meaning "allies," reflects our commitment to our people, our customers, and our community. Join us and build a career that matters!

Position Overview

Position Description

KODA Technologies Inc. is seeking a highly skilled Principal Engineer to provide engineering oversight of 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.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Oversight & Design Assessment

• Expert Advisory: Serve as the technical expert on payload and countermeasure requirements development, analysis, design, qualification, and fielding.
• Independent Evaluation: Review and provide assessments of prime contractor designs, plans, reports, and technical procedures.
• Instrumentation Analysis: Evaluate target instrumentation requirements, physical layouts, component selection, and testing methodologies

Program Milestone & Lifecycle Support

• Milestone Reviews: Provide technical evaluation and engineering support during all major program milestones (including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRB, MRB, and PAR).
• Cross-Agency Coordination: Answer technical inquiries from external MDA organizations and lead multi-disciplinary Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs).

Program Management & Operations Collaboration

• Cost Estimation: Provide technical assessments to the cost analysis team to ensure accurate program management budget estimates.
• Schedule Alignment: Partner with the program scheduler to track delivery deadlines and proactively keep leadership advised of status.

Required Qualifications

• Security Clearance: Active DoD Secret clearance
• Master's degree in STEM and 12+ years supporting missile defense or large-scale, complex DoD programs.
• Program Execution: Experience managing end-to-end program lifecycles, including the development, testing, and fielding of complex systems.
• Adaptability: Thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities change quickly.
• Multitasking: Handle multiple urgent tasks at once without losing focus.
• Travel: Able to support travel requests up to 20% of the time.

Preferred Skills

• Understanding of IR/RCS signatures for flight objects and countermeasures.
• Experience with material properties and material property measurements.
• Knowledge of real-world threat systems and how they impact target designs.
• Have an understanding of MDA flight test requirements and apply that to the payload hardware development.
• Technical proposal development and evaluation.

Clearance: U.S. Citizenship and an active Secret Clearance is required

KODA Technologies Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, status as a parent, national origin, disability (physical or mental), family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit based factors. If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact [e-mail] to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.