Senior Systems Engineer & Product Owner — Hybrid SAFe

Piper Companies; Gaithersburg (MD); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401(k)

PTO

Paid Holidays

Job summary

Zachary Piper Solutions in Gaithersburg, MD is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner to drive backlog and delivery for a premier Air Traffic Management program in a highly regulated, safety-critical environment. This hybrid role combines on-site collaboration with remote work two days a week, leveraging SAFe and agile practices to deliver a next-generation automation platform.

The position requires 8+ years in the field (or a Master’s with 6+ years), strong Agile Product Owner

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/SE or related field with 8+ years experience (Master's with 6+ years may substitute)
• Experience serving as an Agile Product Owner, including backlog ownership, prioritization, user story development, and work acceptance
• Experience working within SAFe Agile environments, including PI Planning and cross-functional team coordination
• Experience decomposing complex technical requirements into testable work items with measurable acceptance criteria
• Experience with cloud-based system design and software development lifecycle practices
• Strong customer engagement, communication, and stakeholder management skills

Responsibilities

• Own and prioritize the Agile team backlog, ensuring delivery aligns with stakeholder needs, program priorities, and dependencies
• Translate system requirements, FAA standards, and mission needs into testable features, user stories, and acceptance criteria
• Maintain traceability between requirements, development activities, and verification outcomes
• Lead PI Planning activities, backlog refinement sessions, scope management, and acceptance of completed work
• Collaborate with Product Management, Systems Engineering, DevSecOps, Test & Evaluation, and customer stakeholders to support successful program delivery

Skills

Agile Product Owner

Backlog prioritization

User story development

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field

Master's degree with 6+ years experience substituted

Tools

PI Planning

SAFe

Job description

Zachary Piper Solutions in Gaithersburg, MD is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer/Product Owner to drive backlog and delivery for a premier Air Traffic Management program in a highly regulated, safety-critical environment. This hybrid role combines on-site collaboration with remote work two days a week, leveraging SAFe and agile practices to deliver a next-generation automation platform.

The position requires 8+ years in the field (or a Master’s with 6+ years), strong Agile Product Owner