Senior Systems Engineer

Stellar Solutions; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Stellar Solutions is seeking an experienced Senior Ground Systems, Test & Operations Engineer to ensure ground systems are designed, integrated, tested, deployed, operated, and sustained throughout the mission lifecycle.

The role requires translating mission needs into executable requirements, guiding enterprise capabilities, and coordinating with customers, partners, and contractors in a fast-paced environment. Active TS/SCI clearance with CI Polygraph is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 12-15 years of relevant experience; master's degree and 10-13 years; or PhD and 8-10 years of relevant experience.
• Experience leading technical teams in hardware/software systems.
• Experience with ground-system architectures and mission operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead systems engineering activities supporting ground systems, mission operations, integration, test, deployment, sustainment, and modernization efforts.
• Plan, implement, test, validate, and document enterprise-wide solutions for total systems or subsystems.
• Define and manage system interfaces, input/output parameters, dependencies, and integration requirements across ground systems and partners.
• Support operational readiness activities, including deployment, transition to operations, troubleshooting, and sustainment.
• Develop requirements, project plans, needs assessments, transition plans, and technology roadmaps.

Skills

Systems engineering

Leadership

Customer liaison

Communication

Technical strategy

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CS/Physics

Master's degree

PhD (optional)

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Microsoft Project

MagicDraw/Cameo

Job description

Overview

Stellar Solutions, a nationally recognized "Great Place To Work", has exciting opportunities providing Engineering solutions for innovative new-entrant space companies, as well as established space systems manufacturers, commercial space system operators and service providers, and other industry stakeholders including investors.

At Stellar Solutions, we offer talented, energetic, and immediately productive resources to satisfy our customers' critical needs in systems engineering and integration, mission operations, program management and strategic planning. We are a leading service and expertise provider for high-tech commercial ventures, spanning communications, earth observation and remote sensing systems and data products, to the infrastructures that support earth orbiting and beyond earth orbit businesses.

Stellar Solutions is seeking an experienced Senior Ground Systems, Test & Operations Engineer to support fast-paced operational projects. The successful candidate will work closely with senior leadership, technical project directors, systems engineers, customer stakeholders, mission partners, and development contractors to ensure ground systems are effectively designed, integrated, tested, deployed, operated, and sustained throughout the mission lifecycle.

Role / Responsibilities / Qualifications

This role requires a systems engineer who can operate at both the technical and strategic levels - translating mission and operational needs into executable requirements, resolving complex integration issues, supporting test and operational readiness, and helping guide the evolution of enterprise ground-system capabilities.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead systems engineering activities supporting ground systems, mission operations, integration, test, deployment, sustainment, and modernization efforts.
• Plan, implement, test, validate, and document enterprise-wide solutions for total systems or subsystems using internally developed and commercially available products.
• Analyze customer needs and existing or future system requirements; establish functional, technical, interface, and operational specifications and standards.
• Define and manage system interfaces, input/output parameters, dependencies, and integration requirements across ground systems, mission partners, development contractors, and customer organizations.
• Support the development and execution of integration, verification, validation, test, readiness, transition, and operational support plans.
• Identify technical, operational, and integration risks; lead or coordinate Technical Exchange Meetings (TEMs) and other working sessions to resolve issues.
• Support operational readiness activities, including system deployment, transition to operations, anomaly investigation, troubleshooting, corrective-action planning, and sustainment.
• Perform systems engineering at the enterprise and strategic level while accounting for operational constraints, customer priorities, policy considerations, changing mission needs, and interactions among multiple systems.
• Develop requirements, project plans, needs assessments, transition plans, technology roadmaps, and future-state recommendations for short-turn and long-range projects.
• Conduct innovation research and evaluate emerging technologies relevant to mission needs and strategic roadmaps.
• Provide technical leadership to multidisciplinary teams and communicate complex technical issues clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with customers, mission partners, contractors, and internal teams; facilitate resolution of technical disagreements and competing priorities.
• Work independently with minimal oversight, exercise sound judgment, and deliver high-quality work in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams in the development, implementation, integration, test, deployment, or sustainment of hardware and software systems.
• Demonstrated experience supporting ground systems, mission operations, system integration, test, operational readiness, or related lifecycle activities.
• Ability to rapidly understand customer needs, translate those needs into actionable technical solutions, and communicate clearly in both written and verbal formats.
• Ability to work autonomously, take initiative, and develop practical solutions to complex or systemic technical challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and drive teams toward a shared technical or operational objective.
• Strong customer, partner, and stakeholder relationship-building skills.
• Bachelor's degree and 12-15 years of relevant experience; master's degree and 10-13 years of relevant experience; or PhD and 8-10 years of relevant experience.
• Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience supporting Intelligence Community or Department of Defense customers.
• Active TS/SCI clearance with CI Polygraph required.

Desired Skills:

• Experience with ground-system architectures, mission operations environments, command-and-control systems, or operational mission support.
• Experience developing or executing system integration, verification, validation, test, readiness, or transition-to-operations activities.
• Experience with software development lifecycle practices in a SAFe Agile environment.
• Experience building, supporting, or using CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with the Atlassian product suite, including Jira and Confluence.
• Experience using Microsoft Project or comparable scheduling and project-management tools.
• Experience with MagicDraw, Cameo, or other Model-Based Systems Engineering tools.
• Experience supporting anomaly resolution, root-cause analysis, operational troubleshooting, or system sustainment.

Deliverables

Drive mission-critical innovation at the enterprise level - this role blends systems engineering, strategic planning, and technical leadership to shape the future of national security systems. If you're a self-starter who thrives on solving complex integration challenges, this is where your impact will be felt across the entire enterprise.