Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner

Zachary Piper, LLC; Gaithersburg (MD); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision benefits

PTO and Sick Leave

Flexible work schedule

Unlimited growth opportunities

Job summary

Zachary Piper Solutions seeks a Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner in Gaithersburg, MD, offering a hybrid work arrangement. You will own and prioritize backlogs across Agile teams, translating requirements into actionable user stories while aligning with FAA standards and program goals.

Responsibilities include ensuring traceability, collaborating with stakeholders, preparing technical docs, and coordinating with RTE, Product Management, and testing teams to meet integration milestones.

Qualifications

• Experience leading Agile Product Owner activities and owning the product backlog.
• Ability to decompose complex requirements into testable items with clear acceptance criteria.
• Proven track record in translating needs into user stories and acceptance criteria.

Responsibilities

• Own and prioritize the backlog for one or more Agile teams based on priorities and dependencies.
• Review requirements, system specs, and FAA standards to extract intent and acceptance criteria.
• Decompose platform needs into testable capabilities with clear acceptance criteria.
• Maintain traceability from requirements to features, stories, and verification evidence.

Skills

Backlog management

Agile product ownership

Stakeholder communication

Requirements decomposition

System thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering

Master's degree (optional)

Tools

Jira

SAFe tooling

Job description

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner to join a federal program located in Gaithersburg, MD on a hybrid basis. The Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner will build and modernize real-time, safety-critical systems using a combination of traditional systems engineering and AI-augmented software development practices.

Responsibilities of the Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner:

• Own and prioritize the backlog for one or more Agile teams, sequencing work based on stakeholder needs, program priorities, and dependencies, and ensuring the development team builds the right functionality
• Review program requirement documents, system specifications, and applicable FAA standards and orders to extract intent, constraints, and acceptance criteria
• Decompose high-level platform and mission capability needs into specific, testable capability statements (Agile features and stories) with clear acceptance criteria
• Maintain traceability from source requirements through features, stories, and verification evidence, ensuring compliance outcomes are demonstrable
• Engage customer stakeholders to identify use cases with an emphasis on completeness, testability, alignment with operational workflows, and readiness for validation and field activities
• Define team PI objectives, participate in PI planning and backlog refinement, make timely scope decisions, and accept completed work
• Systematically capture and communicate design decisions, performance trade-offs, compliance rationales, and risk assessments with each release, enabling reviewers to trace decision-making and provide informed feedback
• Prepare and review technical documentation, including use cases, user interface specifications, and interface definitions
• Coordinate with the Release Train Engineer, Product Management, systems engineering, and Test and Evaluation to manage dependencies and align delivery with integration and verification milestones
• Lead and participate in structured reviews and inspections

Qualifications of the Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline with 8+ years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience. (Equivalent experience may be used in lieu of degree)
• Experience and familiarity with Agile methodology, principles, and tools
• Experience in the role of Agile Product Owner, including owning and prioritizing the product backlog, defining complete product backlog items (user stories), making timely decisions on scope, and acceptance of work
• Demonstrated ability to decompose complex requirements into testable work items with clear, verifiable acceptance criteria
• Strong understanding of disciplined engineering processes, including attention to detail
• Past practical exposure to writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining software or scripts
• Experience with the design of cloud-based systems
• Experience in engaging customers to understand needs, deliver solutions, manage expectations, and maintain an ongoing relationship
• Experience working within a Scaled Agile (SAFe) organization, including PI planning and cross-team coordination
• Clear and effective verbal and written communication
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust
• Successful completion of background investigations as required by the government customer

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of and experience with AI-assisted development workflows and tools (Claude Code, Codex, etc.)
• Experience with Java, Python, React, and scripting languages
• SAFe Product Owner / Product Manager (POPM) certification
• Knowledge of and experience with DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines
• Knowledge of hybrid cloud data mesh architectures and microservices platforms
• Familiarity with MBSE concepts and systems engineering integration
• Knowledge of air traffic control systems, air traffic management, general aviation, and/or flight services
• Practical knowledge of FAA/DoD systems, technical policies, standards, and orders
• Knowledge of FedRAMP, FISMA, or government security compliance frameworks
• Experience supporting verification and validation of safety-critical systems
• Track record of successful delivery on large government programs

Compensation for the Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner:

• Salary Range: $150,000+ *flexible based on experience*
• Comprehensive Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO, and Sick Leave as required by law
• Flexible working schedule
• Unlimited opportunities for growth

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