Principal Engineer, Missile Defense Payloads

AeroVironment; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401(k) plan

Flexible schedule

9/80 work schedule

Job summary

AeroVironment seeks a Principal Engineering in Huntsville, AL to provide Missile Defense Agency program oversight for target system payloads and countermeasure development. You will be the technical anchor across milestones from system requirements through Product Acceptance, collaborating with modeling teams, cost analysts, and schedulers to ensure timely delivery.

Role emphasizes expert advisory on payload design, independent evaluation of prime contractor work, and coordination across

Qualifications

• Master's degree in STEM required.
• 12+ years of DoD missile defense or large-scale program experience.
• Active DoD Secret clearance.
• Program execution across end-to-end lifecycles.
• Adaptability to fast-paced, changing priorities.
• Multitasking across urgent tasks.
• Up to 20% travel.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical advisory on payload and countermeasure requirements.
• Review prime contractor designs and technical procedures.
• Evaluate target instrumentation layouts and testing methods.
• Support milestone reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRB, MRB, PAR).
• Coordinate TIMs and respond to external inquiries.
• Work with cost analysts and schedulers to align schedules and budgets.

Skills

Program Execution

Adaptability

Multitasking

Travel

Education

Master's degree in STEM

Job description

AeroVironment seeks a Principal Engineering in Huntsville, AL to provide Missile Defense Agency program oversight for target system payloads and countermeasure development. You will be the technical anchor across milestones from system requirements through Product Acceptance, collaborating with modeling teams, cost analysts, and schedulers to ensure timely delivery.

Role emphasizes expert advisory on payload design, independent evaluation of prime contractor work, and coordination across