Principal Engineer (Job ID: 4509)

Valkyrie Enterprises; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Valkyrie Enterprises seeks a Principal Engineer in Huntsville, AL to provide engineering oversight for target system payloads and countermeasure development.

You will act as a trusted advisor to the program office, deliver critical assessments of designs and plans, and lead cross‑organization collaboration through major milestones, while ensuring timely, accurate delivery of technical tasks.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in STEM required.
• 12+ years experience in missile defense or large DoD programs.
• Experience managing end-to-end program lifecycles.

Responsibilities

• Engineering Oversight & Design Assessment: provide expert advisory on payload and countermeasure requirements, analysis, design and testing.
• Program Milestone & Lifecycle Support: participate in major milestone reviews and TIMs with cross-agency coordination.
• Program Management & Operations Collaboration: support cost estimation and schedule alignment with leadership.

Skills

Engineering Oversight

Technical Advisory

Instrumentation Analysis

Cost Estimation

Schedule Tracking

Education

Master's degree in STEM

12+ years DoD missile defense experience

Job description

Principal Engineer

Contingent upon prime contractor approval

• Valkyrie Enterprises has need for a Principal Engineer in Huntsville, AL to deliver 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

Principal Engineer

Contingent upon prime contractor approval

Purpose

• Valkyrie Enterprises has need for a Principal Engineer in Huntsville, AL to deliver 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

Job Description

• 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: Supply technical evaluation and engineering knowledge 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: Deliver 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

Qualifications

• Must have a Master's degree in STEM and at least 12 years supporting missile defense or large-scale, complex DoD programs.
• Must have experience managing end-to-end program lifecycles, including the development, testing, and fielding of complex systems.
• Must thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities change quickly.
• Must handle multiple urgent tasks at once without losing focus.

Desired Qualifications

• Understanding IR/RCS signatures for flight objects and countermeasures preferred.
• Experience with material properties and material property measurements preferred.