Principal Systems Engineer

Talentify; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Talentify is seeking a Systems Chief Engineer to lead integration across satellite, payload, ground, RF, timing, and software domains for a U.S. aerospace program in Herndon, VA.

The role owns system-level error budgets, interfaces, configuration management, and verification closure, driving cross-team collaboration to deliver a flight-ready constellation. You will coordinate with PNT, timing, RF, and Verification teams, and ensure requirements, budgets, and interfaces evolve coherently as the

Qualifications

• 12+ years of systems engineering experience at principal, lead, or chief engineer level.
• Proven ability owning system-level error budgets, interfaces, and verification activities across multiple subsystems.
• Experience driving verification closure across peer organizations you do not directly manage.
• Technical credibility to resolve cross-functional issues and align requirements, interfaces, and budgets.

Responsibilities

• Own the whole-system error budget across satellite generations and ensure a coherent verifiable system.
• Own and maintain the program's interface control documents (payload-to-bus, ground-to-payload, LEONS-to-MOS).
• Manage configuration for the program and vendor relationships, including change control.
• Direct cross-team execution with PNT, timing, RF, I&T, and Verification to produce integrated closure evidence.
• Operate across payload, bus, ground, RF, timing, software, and verification as the primary systems-integration authority.
• Identify system-level risks early and drive ownership to closure while keeping budgets and interfaces aligned.

Skills

Systems engineering

Interface control

Verification

Configuration management

Leadership

Job description

An aerospace client is seeking a full-time Systems Chief Engineer to lead integration across their satellite, payload, ground, RF, timing, and software systems. You will own critical interfaces, system error budgets, configuration management, and verification closure, ensuring multiple satellite generations come together as one cohesive, flight-ready constellation.

Responsibilities:

• Own the whole-of-system error budget across satellite generations, ensuring subsystem-level performance rolls up to a coherent, verifiable system that closes as a whole rather than as individually optimized subsystems.
• Own and maintain the program's critical interface control documents, including payload-to-bus, ground-to-payload, and LEONS-to-MOS interfaces, as well as mixed-constellation user range accuracy and message-design interfaces.
• Own configuration management for the program and the technical relationship with the spacecraft bus vendor, including interface definition, design-review participation, and change control.
• Drive execution through the broader engineering team - directing the PNT budget owner, timing scientist, RF link-budget owners, Integration and Test Engineer, and Timing Verification Engineer to produce the verification evidence you integrate into system-level closure.
• Operate across every technical pillar within Space Systems — payload, bus, ground, RF, timing, software, and verification - serving as the primary systems-integration authority during this phase of program growth and taking the highest-leverage technical integration workload off the Director of Space Systems.
• Identify system-level risks early, assign clear technical ownership, drive decisions to closure, and ensure that requirements, interfaces, budgets, and verification evidence remain aligned as the architecture evolves.

Requirements:

• 12+ years of systems engineering experience at the principal, lead, or chief-engineer level, with responsibility spanning spacecraft payloads, ground systems, satellite buses, or similarly complex integrated systems.
• Demonstrated experience owning and closing system-level error budgets, technical interfaces, and verification activities across multiple interfacing subsystems.
• Proven ability to drive technical execution and verification closure across peer organizations and teams you do not directly manage.
• The technical credibility, judgment, and influence required to resolve cross-functional issues, establish alignment, and hold owners accountable for system-level outcomes.
• Direct experience developing, managing, and maintaining interface control documents on an active development or flight program.
• Strong understanding of requirements decomposition, technical risk management, configuration management, and system-level trade studies.
• Must be a U.S. Person.

Desired:

• Experience establishing or scaling systems-engineering practices for a program growing from tens to hundreds of spacecraft.
• Constellation-scale systems thinking, including the ability to account for configuration variability, production cadence, fleet performance, interoperability, and long-term verification needs.
• Experience with Global Navigation Satellite Systems, positioning, navigation and timing, precision timing, or related mission architectures.
• Experience supporting multiple hardware generations or vehicle configurations in parallel while maintaining architectural consistency and configuration discipline.
• Familiarity with ground-segment or mission-operations architectures.