Senior Staff Engineer

ensco; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

ENSCO Inc. seeks a Senior Staff Engineer to lead acquisition-focused efforts for a critical TT&C satellite control capability. You will bridge mission outcomes with portfolio options, cybersecurity considerations, and transition plans from concept to executable acquisition action.

The role emphasizes decision velocity, modular architecture, and collaboration with government decision owners to drive timely fielding of capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in a relevant field with 10+ years of professional experience.
• Proven track record influencing high-consequence mission and acquisition decisions.
• Experience leading acquisition strategy across concept maturation, pre-prototype planning, rapid prototyping, or early phase.

Responsibilities

• Convert mission urgency into acquisition action and define outcomes, time-to-field targets, and resources.
• Set the acquisition strategy across portfolio position, acquisition pathway, competitive structure, contracting options, prototype sequencing, and funding points.
• Drive portfolio trade-space decisions across mission effect, performance, cost, schedule, integration, cybersecurity, interoperability, and production scalability.
• Design rapid learning campaigns with focused experiments, demonstrations, and exit criteria to surface weak assumptions early.
• Build for modularity with open architecture, interfaces, data rights, and replacable capability increments to preserve options.
• Advance commercial-first approaches by evaluating open options, non-traditional suppliers, and co-investment models when faster delivery is possible.
• Connect mission architecture to fielding, aligning workflows, data flows, dependencies, and training for handoff to operations.
• Create decision packages and scorecards with concise papers, roadmaps, and risk/opportunity views focused on time-to-field and mission outcomes.
• Synchronize empowered stakeholders across acquisition, contracting, finance, operations, intelligence, cybersecurity, logistics, and industry partners.
• Lead through execution by surfacing blockers, assigning evidence, mentoring technical contributors, and maintaining accountability through milestones.

Skills

Acquisition strategy leadership

Rapid prototyping

Technical leadership influence

Portfolio trade decisions

Education

Bachelor's or advanced degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, software engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, engineering management, or a closely related technical discipline

Job description

For more than 50 years, ENSCO has been providing leading-edge engineering, science and advanced technology solutions to governments and private industries worldwide.

ENSCO prides itself in creating and applying advanced technologies for mission success. We provide systems engineering, integration, and advanced technology services to transform the future safety, security, and resiliency of critical missions on the ground, in the air, in space, and in the information systems that connect these domains.

Learn more about ENSCO.

Position Description

ENSCO Inc. is a diverse engineering and technology company that provides engineering, science, and advanced technology solutions supporting mission success, safety, and security for government and commercial customers worldwide.

We are seeking a Senior Staff Engineer to work directly with Government acquisition and mission leaders responsible for a critical Satellite Control (Telemetry, Tracking, and Command - TT&C) capability. This role operates before prototype commitment and turns operational urgency into a clear path to buy, prove, integrate, and field capability.

This leader will connect mission outcomes, portfolio trade space, commercial and industrial options, mission architecture, cybersecurity, transition, and production scalability. The focus is decision velocity: define the smallest body of evidence needed for each decision, expose risk early, keep multiple options viable, and move the Government from concept to executable acquisition action. Government decision owners retain all formal authority.

Primary Responsibilities

• Convert mission urgency into acquisition action. Define the operational outcomes, time-to-field targets, production scale targets, critical constraints, and decision evidence needed before the Government commits resources to a prototype.
• Set the acquisition strategy. Lead development of the Government-owned strategy across portfolio position, acquisition pathway, competitive structure, contracting options, prototype sequencing, funding decision points, fielding increments, and transition.
• Drive portfolio trade-space decisions. Frame clear choices across mission effect, performance, cost, schedule, integration complexity, cybersecurity, interoperability, time-to-field, and production scalability so leaders can act quickly.
• Design rapid learning campaigns. Define focused experiments, demonstrations, digital evidence, knowledge points, exit criteria, and off-ramps that expose weak assumptions early and prevent premature commitment.
• Build for modularity and competition. Establish modular open architecture principles, open interfaces, data-rights objectives, integration seams, and replaceable capability increments that preserve options and reduce vendor lock-in.
• Advance commercial-first options. Evaluate commercial products, Commercial Solutions Openings, Other Transaction pathways, non-traditional suppliers, direct-to-supplier opportunities, dual-use solutions, and co-investment models when they accelerate mission outcomes.
• Connect mission architecture to fielding. Align mission threads, operator workflows, interfaces, data flows, external dependencies, infrastructure, cybersecurity, sustainment, training, and operational handoff from the start.
• Create decision packages and scorecards. Deliver concise option papers, capability roadmaps, industrial assessments, decision schedules, risk and opportunity views, and portfolio measures centered on time-to-field, production scalability, and mission outcomes.
• Synchronize empowered stakeholders. Drive a high-tempo decision cadence across acquisition, contracting, finance, operations, intelligence, communications, engineering, test, cybersecurity, logistics, and industry participants.
• Lead through execution. Surface blockers early, assign evidence and action owners, challenge unsupported assumptions, mentor technical contributors, and maintain accountability through the next Government decision and transition milestone.

Qualifications Required

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, software engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, engineering management, or a closely related technical discipline, plus a minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience.
• Recognized as a top contributor within the technical community, with a well-established technical reputation and a record of influencing high-consequence mission and acquisition decisions.
• Demonstrated experience leading the creation or execution of an acquisition strategy during concept maturation, pre-prototype planning, rapid prototyping, or another early phase for a complex defense, intelligence, space, or mission capability.
• Proven ability to convert urgent mission outcomes into an executable acquisition pathway, competitive approach, prototype decision plan, measurable knowledge points, and fielding strategy.
• Ability to drive portfolio trade