Principal Systems Engineer

TrustPoint; Virginia (MN); On-site; USD 175,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity (stock options)

Job summary

TrustPoint is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to lead integration across our satellite, payload, ground, RF, timing, and software systems. You will own critical interfaces, system error budgets, configuration management, and verification closure to ensure multiple satellite generations form a cohesive, flight-ready constellation.

The role requires 12+ years in systems engineering at principal or lead level, proven ability to drive verification closure across teams, and experience with

Qualifications

• 12+ years of systems engineering experience at principal or lead level.
• Experience owning and closing system-level error budgets and technical interfaces.
• Ability to drive technical execution and verification closure across multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the whole-of-system error budget across satellite generations, ensuring subsystem performance rolls up to a coherent system.
• Own and maintain critical interface control documents (payload-to-bus, ground-to-payload, LEONS-to-MOS) and related interfaces.
• Own configuration management for the program and management with the spacecraft bus vendor.

Skills

Systems engineering

Interface control

Requirements decomposition

Risk management

Configuration management

Verification

Job description

Join TrustPoint and Build the World’s First Commercial GPS System in Space

GPS is a ubiquitous global utility in modern society; knowing one’s location is critical for government, commercial, and personal applications. Still, today’s solutions for determining location are inaccurate, slow, unencrypted, and susceptible to jamming and spoofing. These shortcomings make GPS insufficient for tomorrow’s safety-critical and high-precision applications, a problem TrustPoint intends to solve.

TrustPoint is developing a fully commercial next-generation GPS service to provide significant performance, security and reliability improvements for GPS users. This includes better accuracy, quicker Time to First Fix, and anti-spoof and anti-jam capabilities. The improvements will support US Government position and timing service resiliency as well as enable next-generation commercial applications like drone delivery, self-driving cars, urban air mobility, and augmented reality. The $260B annual GNSS Hardware, Software and Data Services market is ripe for disruption and TrustPoint intends to lead that revolution with our commercial infrastructure and services.

The Position

With locations outside Washington, DC, and in Silicon Valley, TrustPoint is seeking a full-time Principal Systems Engineer to lead integration across our 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.

We'll Expect You To:

• 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.

We'll Expect You To Have:

• 12+ years of systems engineering experience at the principal or lead 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.

We'd Like to See:

• 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.

Cultural Fit

• Thrive in a start‑up environment
• Effective communication style that instills a culture of optimism and positivity
• Sense of humor and ability to proactively problem solve.
• Encourages colleagues to think and plan strategically while executing well tactically.
• Works well with all company levels and disciplines (i.e. Legal, HR, etc.).
• Willing to “roll up sleeves” in a new venture, working closely with colleagues.

Compensation and Benefits

The selected candidate will be competitively compensated with salary, equity (stock options), and standard benefits. The salary range for this position is $175,000 to $228,000.

TrustPoint, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.