Project Engineer, Staff (IV) & Software Integration Lead

Socket.dev; San Luis Obispo (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 181,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Paid PTO

Paid holidays

Medical insurance

Disability insurance

HSA/FSA options

Critical care plan

Accident care plan

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

Socket.dev is seeking a Project Engineer, Staff (IV) & Software Integration Lead in San Luis Obispo, CA. You will lead cross-functional engineering workstreams across hardware, software, and systems, ensuring milestone readiness and strong integration across disciplines.

You will own the technical readiness for reviews (CoDR/PDR/CDR/TRR), mentor junior engineers, and drive automation and test readiness across software teams. This role demands structured leadership and proactive coordination.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Project Management, Technical Management, or related analytical field required.
• 7–10 years of experience in project engineering, technical program coordination, or engineering operations.
• Demonstrated experience running multi-disciplinary engineering activities or subsystem-level coordination.
• Aerospace, defense, robotics, or complex hardware/software integration experience highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of engineering lifecycles and milestone processes (CoDR, PDR, CDR, TRR).
• Ability to read, interpret, and summarize technical documentation across multiple engineering disciplines.
• Proficiency with project coordination tools (Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, or similar).
• Strong ability to build schedules, track dependencies, and manage integration plans.
• Experience coordinating prototype builds, integration activities, or test preparation events.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills—able to bring clarity to complex technical discussions.
• High organizational rigor and consistency; able to structure ambiguity and drive alignment.
• Strong time management and prioritization across simultaneous workstreams.
• Ability to anticipate cross-functional impacts and coordinate proactively.
• Positive leadership presence with the ability to mentor junior PEs and influence without authority.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional coordination for major engineering workstreams or subsystems.
• Own milestone readiness: track criteria, organize artifacts, and ensure engineering teams deliver inputs on time.
• Drive technical integration across disciplines (EE, ME, SW, Systems, Test), surfacing risks or gaps early.
• Build and maintain schedules and integration plans for complex engineering segments.
• Run recurring coordination meetings, ensuring structured communication, clear next steps, and documented progress.
• Collaborate with systems engineering to maintain requirement alignment, verification progress, and design impact awareness.
• Coordinate prototype builds, integration events, and test readiness activities.
• Support ECO workflows, change documentation, and cross-team configuration control alignment.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to Associate and L2 Project Engineers.
• Serve as an execution partner to engineering leadership, offering early insight into progress, constraints, and cross-team needs.
• Manage the software quality assurance team, driving priorities and deliverables. Including extending coverage of automated test points.
• Assumes all other responsibilities as assigned

Skills

Project coordination

Cross-functional leadership

Technical communication

Risk management

Scheduling

Mentoring juniors

Leadership presence

Proactive coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Smartsheet

Job description

WORK LOCATION: San Luis Obispo, CA

FLSA STATUS: Exempt

SALARY RANGE: The anticipated salary range for this role is $170,000.00 to $180,810.00 annually. This range reflects a good faith estimate based on the targeted level for the role and typical compensation benchmarks across U.S. locations. Actual compensation may vary depending on the selected candidate’s qualifications, experience, geographical location, and internal alignment.

SUMMARY

The Project Engineer, Staff (IV) & Software Integration Lead leads major segments of engineering execution, ensuring cross-functional technical alignment, milestone readiness, and structured progress toward key deliverables. This role manages multi-disciplinary workstreams across hardware, software, systems, test, and production teams—driving integration, clarifying requirements, and maintaining structured coordination throughout the development lifecycle.

The Project Engineer, Staff (IV) & Software Integration Lead prepares and owns the technical readiness for engineering reviews (CoDR, PDR, CDR, TRR), partnering closely with technical leads to ensure teams meet entry/exit criteria. This role improves execution quality by identifying disconnects early, structuring communication, and coordinating the planning, sequencing, and integration of complex engineering activities. The position serves as a central communication and alignment hub for engineering leadership.

The Project Engineer, Staff (IV) & Software Integration Lead role also requires the management of the team that provides the software quality assurance across all the various software related teams. In this role, one will determine test priorities, allocate resources, drive further automation of regression and CI testing across the various software deliverables. This team currently consists of five individuals and is expected to grow.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The following job functions are a basic requirement but are not limited to and may be assigned other duties.

• Lead cross-functional coordination for major engineering workstreams or subsystems.

• Own milestone readiness: track criteria, organize artifacts, and ensure engineering teams deliver inputs on time.

• Drive technical integration across disciplines (EE, ME, SW, Systems, Test), surfacing risks or gaps early.

• Build and maintain schedules and integration plans for complex engineering segments.

• Run recurring coordination meetings, ensuring structured communication, clear next steps, and documented progress.

• Collaborate with systems engineering to maintain requirement alignment, verification progress, and design impact awareness.

• Coordinate prototype builds, integration events, and test readiness activities.

• Support ECO workflows, change documentation, and cross-team configuration control alignment.

• Provide mentorship and guidance to Associate and L2 Project Engineers.

• Serve as an execution partner to engineering leadership, offering early insight into progress, constraints, and cross-team needs.

• Manage the software quality assurance team, driving priorities and deliverables. Including extending coverage of automated test points.

• Assumes all other responsibilities as assigned

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Project Management, Technical Management, or related analytical field required.

• 7–10 years of experience in project engineering, technical program coordination, or engineering operations.

• Demonstrated experience running multi-disciplinary engineering activities or subsystem-level coordination.

• Aerospace, defense, robotics, or complex hardware/software integration experience highly preferred.

• Strong understanding of engineering lifecycles and milestone processes (CoDR, PDR, CDR, TRR).

• Ability to read, interpret, and summarize technical documentation across multiple engineering disciplines.

• Proficiency with project coordination tools (Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, or similar).

• Strong ability to build schedules, track dependencies, and manage integration plans.

• Experience coordinating prototype builds, integration activities, or test preparation events.

• Excellent communication and facilitation skills—able to bring clarity to complex technical discussions.

• High organizational rigor and consistency; able to structure ambiguity and drive alignment.

• Strong time management and prioritization across simultaneous workstreams.

• Ability to anticipate cross-functional impacts and coordinate proactively.

• Positive leadership presence with the ability to mentor junior PEs and influence without authority.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Certification or coursework in project management (PMP, CAPM) or systems engineering preferred.

• Experience preparing milestone packages, verification artifacts, or integration documentation.

• Prior involvement in flight test coordination, lab integration, or system-level test readiness.

• Experience coordinating suppliers, external labs, or specialized engineering resources.

• Familiarity with requirements management tools (DOORS, Jama, or similar).

• Experience with PLM/PDM systems and configuration control workflows.

• Understanding of verification matrices, traceability, and risk/impact documentation.

• Ability to frame technical topics for leadership and cross-functional audiences.

• Strong ability to maintain cadence and structure in dynamic, rapidly evolving engineering environments.

• Demonstrated ability to resolve cross-team disconnects through clear communication and alignment modeling.

REDWIRE DEFENSE TECH BENEFITS

• Matching 401(k)
• Paid PTO
• Paid holidays
• Medical, vision, and dental insurance
• Group Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• HSA and FSA Options
• Critical Care Plan
• Accident Care Plan
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS

This position may require access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). To comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants will be asked to provide specific documentation to verify a US person’s status under the ITAR and the EAR.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The work environment may involve a standard office setting while also incorporating elements of a production area. Employees will use standard office equipment, including computers, and must demonstrate stamina to sit or stand while maintaining attention to detail despite potential interruptions. The role may require occasional activities such as walking, climbing, stooping, crouching, and bending. Vision is necessary for reading printed materials and a computer screen, while hearing and speech are essential for effective communication both in person and over the telephone. Additionally, the position may necessitate travel by air or automobile. Employees may be required to use personal protective equipment, including safety glasses, safety shoes, and shop coats, to ensure safety in the production environment. Employees may be able to lift up to 30 pounds as needed.

REDWIRE DEFENSE TECH IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. Redwire Defense Tech is committed to providing access, equal opportunityand reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, contact Human Resources. Continued employment remains on an “At-Will” basis.