Tactical Data Links Project Engineer

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems; Poway (CA); On-site; USD 128,130 - 229,358; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace and defense company is seeking a Project Engineer for its Agile Mission Systems team in Poway, California. This role focuses on leading Tactical Data Link solutions and requires expertise in multi-disciplinary engineering. The ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree and significant experience in project management and communications systems. The position offers a full-time salary ranging from $128,130 to $229,358. Candidates with diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a bachelor's degree plus at least 15 years of experience in engineering.
• Proven ability to apply engineering principles in dynamic environments.
• Direct experience with tactical data link networks such as Link 16, SATCOM.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-disciplinary teams to design and integrate mission systems.
• Represent technical architecture for data link networks.
• Engage customers and ensure technical solutions align with their needs.

Skills

Leadership skills

Technical problem resolution

Communication skills

Team management

Customer focus

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related technical discipline

Master's degree or PhD in engineering or related technical discipline

Tools

Link 16

SATCOM

UHF

VHF

Job description

Job Summary

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), is a world leader in Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV), autonomy, AI‑solutions, defense technologies, and advanced sensing capabilities. With more than eight million flight hours, GA‑ASI is committed to rapidly delivering disruptive and advanced autonomous aircraft, end-to-end mission solutions, and cutting‑edge technologies at scale to ensure the nation maintains strategic advantages through ISR and Air Dominance in contested environments.

Project Engineering (PE) Role

The Agile Mission Systems (AMS) at GA‑ASI in San Diego, CA is a growing center of excellence seeking high‑performing technical contributors, unique talent, and future leaders in the Project Engineering (PE) role. Through the PE role, this candidate will be responsible for leading Tactical Data Link (TDL) solutions providing end‑to‑end missionization and an autonomous mission suite capable of connecting critical Line‑of‑Sight (LOS) and Beyond‑Line‑of‑Sight (BLOS) communication networks. Additionally, this candidate will lead strategic objectives, stitch together systems‑of‑systems, influence multi‑level business strategies, close complex kill chains, resolve critical mission gaps, and drive missionized architectures to achieve disruptive tactical advantages and effects on adversarial competition. This candidate’s contributions will span across multiple UAS platforms to include Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), Longshot, a variety of Small UAS, Expendable UAS, NexGen ISR, and Legacy Platform variants such as MQ‑1 & MQ‑9A/B.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Project Engineering: lead multi‑disciplinary teams, innovate, design, integrate, test, qualify, and rapidly field advanced technologies and mission systems onto autonomous UCAV.
• Data Link Expertise: represent the tactical data links, communication, and networking sub‑systems architecture and optimization across the platform sub‑systems; Link 16, TTNT, UHF, VHF, IFF‑T/I, SATCOM, Starshield, LPI/LPD waveforms, Encrypted Comms, and Next‑Generation data link communication networks.
• Fighter Expertise: leverage fighter‑to‑fighter tactical data link expertise to design and architect UCAV air dominance network topologies, network management, and digital data interoperability.
• Mission Architect: lead design, drive selection of hardware & software, integrate and test communications networks across a variety of platforms and systems with a focus on battlespace awareness, C2, and digital data interoperability. Support mission architecture implementations and designs, focused on driving interoperability through Open Architectures (e.g. AMS GRA), and Autonomy & AI.
• Develop Artifacts: create specifications, block diagrams, system interconnect diagrams, and define wire interfaces and ICDs for UCAV data link communication systems.
• Test & Evaluate: configure, integrate, simulate, test, and evaluate tactical data link networks and topologies.
• Team Leadership: lead Functional Engineering teams, ensuring alignment with business and strategic objectives, and allocating technical resources to achieve stated and program objectives.
• Collaboration: foster a collaborative environment and build consensus for technical solutions between GA functional engineering departments, program management, external GA P&Ls, and customer stakeholders.
• Program Execution: lead diverse multi‑functional engineering teams to meet critical program milestones and successfully execute programs within defined cost and schedule parameters. Establish and maintain consistent team expectations, ensure resources and skillsets are available to support technical work products.
• Customer Engagement: represent programs as the engineering lead, ensuring consistent and appropriate messaging to external customer stakeholders, PoR representatives across the DoD, industry partners, subcontractors, and senior internal/executive stakeholders.
• Proposals: support engineering estimates and proposals in response to customer and leadership directives.
• Technical Reviews: perform system analysis, conduct trade studies, author technical white papers, and generate customer technical data packages. Complete, document, and present System Requirements Reviews (SRR), Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), and Critical Design Reviews (CDR).
  

Job Qualifications

• Typically requires a bachelor's degree, masters degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience as follows; fifteen or more years of experience with a bachelor's degree, thirteen or more years of experience with a masters degree, or ten or more years with a PhD. May substitute equivalent engineering experience in lieu of education.
• Proven ability to understand new concepts quickly and apply them in a dynamic work environment.
• Demonstrates technical expertise in the application of engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice as well as project management and leadership skills including organizing, planning, scheduling, and coordinating workloads to meet established deadlines or milestones.
• Experience in developing and integrating hardware and software with various engineering disciplines, including Mechanical, Electrical, RF, Cyber, Autonomy, AI/ML, and Software.
• Direct Technical expertise and experience with more than one of the following; Link 16, TTNT, UHF, VHF, IFF‑T/I, SATCOM, Starshield, LPI/LPD waveforms, Encrypted Comms, and Next‑Generation data link communication networks.
• Experience in one or more of the following technologies: Multi‑Mode Radars, EO/IR systems, Advanced IRST, Electronic Warfare systems, Multi‑INT systems, Countermeasures, Communications, Tactical Datalinks, Automation, Autonomy & Artificial Intelligence (A3I), HMI/UI, Cybersecurity, Software Architectures, Open Architectures and Standards (AMS GRA, OMS, FACE, STANAG), Networking, Modeling & Simulation.
• Product Management, Proposal Development, Basis of Estimation, Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS); Commercial and/or DoD Product development experience.
• Skills:
  • Ability to resolve complex technical problems.
  • Strong leadership and team management skills.
  • Effective communication skills with the ability to build enterprise relationships and manage customer expectations.
  • Must be customer‑focused, able to work independently and in a team environment.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Security Clearance desired (up to a TS/SCI).
    

We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply. Job Type: Full‑Time Salary
Salary range: 128,130 - 229,358