Principal Engineer Systems Safety
Caribou Thunder
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Job summary
Caribou Thunder in Colorado Springs is seeking a Principal Systems Safety Engineer to lead system safety across defense programs. You will apply MIL-STD-882E, develop SSPPs and SARs, manage HTS records, and drive safety requirements from concept through deployment onsite with a 9/80 schedule.
Active DoD Secret clearance required; travel up to 10% and close collaboration across IPTs, software, hardware, and systems engineering teams to ensure safety and compliance while balancing cost and
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Safety Engineering or related STEM with 5 years of related experience OR Master’s with 3 years OR PhD with 1 year
- Active DoD Secret clearance at time of application
- Experience applying MIL-STD-882E system safety processes
- Familiarity with MIL-STD-1472H, AFMAN guidance, and military safety compliance
- Experience developing and maintaining HTS documentation
- Experience creating SSPPs, SARs, Software Safety Analyses, and Hazard Analyses
Responsibilities
- Perform comprehensive system safety analyses across the lifecycle
- Evaluate designs to identify hazards and develop risk mitigation
- Apply MIL-STD-882E to analyze hazards and drive safety requirements
- Develop/maintain SSPPs, SARs, Software Safety Analyses, and Hazard Analyses
- Maintain Hazard Tracking System (HTS) records end-to-end
- Participate in design reviews and IPT meetings to ensure safety is designed in
- Collaborate with systems, software, hardware engineers and program leadership
- Conduct operational safety audits and continuous improvement assessments
- Support accident investigations by identifying root causes and corrective actions
- Verify compliance with safety standards while balancing performance, schedule, and cost
- Support requirements development, verification, validation, and testing with safety traceability
- Occasional travel up to 10% for meetings and reviews
Skills
Education
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Job description
Back Principal Engineer Systems Safety
Engineering Colorado Springs Direct Hire Oct 29, 2026
Mid-Level | $100,000 - $132,000 | Colorado Springs, CO | Onsite | Travel Up to 10% | Active Secret Clearance Required
Support the development of next-generation defense and radar systems by ensuring mission-critical hardware and software are designed, tested, and operated safely throughout the system lifecycle. Join a multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for applying system safety engineering principles to identify hazards, mitigate operational risk, and ensure compliance with military safety standards supporting advanced defense programs.
- Perform comprehensive system safety analyses throughout the system development lifecycle, ensuring hardware, software, and operational concepts comply with military system safety standards.
- Evaluate system designs, engineering documentation, operational procedures, and support equipment to identify hazards and develop effective risk mitigation strategies.
- Apply MIL-STD-882E system safety processes to analyze hazards, assign risk levels, and drive safety requirements into system architecture, software, hardware, and operational procedures.
- Develop and maintain System Safety Program Plans (SSPPs), System Safety Assessment Reports (SARs), Software Safety Analyses, hazard analyses, and other required safety documentation supporting customer and range certification requirements.
- Maintain and manage Hazard Tracking System (HTS) records, ensuring hazards are documented, mitigated, verified, and closed through a disciplined lifecycle process.
- Participate in system design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and engineering peer reviews to ensure safety is incorporated early in the design process.
- Collaborate daily with systems engineers, software developers, hardware engineers, integration teams, and program leadership to resolve safety concerns and implement corrective actions.
- Perform operational safety audits and assessments to evaluate program compliance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
- Support accident and incident investigations by identifying root causes, documenting findings, and recommending corrective and preventive actions.
- Verify compliance with applicable military, customer, and regulatory safety standards while balancing technical performance, mission requirements, schedule, and program cost.
- Support requirements development, system verification, validation, and test activities by ensuring safety requirements are fully traceable throughout the engineering lifecycle.
- Support occasional travel (up to 10%) for customer meetings, engineering reviews, and program activities.
- Bachelor's degree in Safety Engineering or a related STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of related experience; OR
- Master's degree and 3 years of related experience; OR
- PhD and 1 year of related experience.
- Four additional years of relevant experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree.
- Active in-scope DoD Secret security clearance required at time of application.
- Experience applying MIL-STD-882E system safety processes to identify, assess, mitigate, and eliminate system hazards.
- Familiarity with MIL-STD-1472H, applicable AFMAN guidance, and military safety compliance requirements.
- Experience developing and maintaining Hazard Tracking System (HTS) documentation.
- Experience developing system safety artifacts including:
- System Safety Program Plans (SSPP)
- System Safety Assessment Reports (SAR)
- Software Safety Analyses
- Hazard Analyses
- Understanding of systems engineering lifecycle processes, including requirements development, system architecture, software development, integration, testing, verification, and validation.
- Experience developing, reviewing, and approving system safety requirements and engineering documentation.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to work effectively across Integrated Product Teams (IPTs), program leadership, customers, and external stakeholders.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project).
- Ability to travel up to 10%.
- Ability to work onsite full-time in Colorado Springs under a 9/80 work schedule.
- Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) using Cameo Enterprise Architecture.
- Familiarity with radar systems, radar operations, or sensor-based defense systems.
- Experience working within Agile development environments using Scrum or Kanban methodologies.
- Experience using Atlassian collaboration tools including Jira and Confluence.
- Experience supporting SharePoint-based engineering documentation.
- Experience working in fast-paced, multidisciplinary defense engineering environments.
- Experience with systems engineering tools such as IBM DOORS.
- Experience using system modeling tools including CORE, Rhapsody, PTC Integrity Modeler, or Cameo.
- Working knowledge of military and industry safety standards including:
- MIL-STD-882
- MIL-STD-1472
- ASTM
- ANSI
- OSHA
- PESHE
- NFPA
- FCC
Caribou Thunder is a HUBZone-certified small business providing advanced technical and engineering services to the U.S. Department of War and its mission partners.
35+ states and 20+ countries.
We've delivered trusted solutions for over two decades—strengthening national readiness across missions on land, undersea, in the air, and throughout LEO, MEO, GEO, and deep space.
- Employee Advocacy
- Mission Proven
- Global Reach
- Skilled Teams
- Modern Tools
- Empowering Culture
Our engineers and innovators ensure capability from sea floor to space frontier—delivering on time, maintaining compliance, and performing with precision in high-consequence environments.
We specialize in Engineering Services, Cybersecurity, Software Development, Modeling & Simulation, Digital Engineering, System Safety, and Artificial Intelligence—disciplines powering the nation's most complex technical missions.
Our people are the heart of Caribou Thunder. We invest in their growth, flexibility, and well-being—knowing their success drives ours.
Benefits include:
- Premium Health, Dental & Vision Insurance
- 401(k) with 6% Company Match
- Flexibile PTO & Work Schedule
- Education & Certification Reimbursement
- Support for Military Leave
- Work–Life Balance & Traditional Family Values
Your future, your flexibility, your well-being—we invest in you.
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