Senior Systems Engineer – Propulsion Systems

PDS Tech, Inc.; Elkton (MD); On-site; USD 90,000 - 103,000; Full time

Job summary

PDS Tech Commercial in Elkton, MD is seeking a Systems Engineer to lead and integrate propulsion systems programs. You will coordinate across engineering disciplines, develop and manage requirements, and drive verification plans through CDR and PDR milestones.

You will work with a team on complex propulsion projects, contribute to risk management, and lead technical reviews. This role offers on-site work with competitive compensation and a path to technical leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field.
• Experience in requirements, design, integration, or testing.
• Experience with formal technical reviews such as SRR, PDR, CDR.
• Experience with DOORS, Jama, or JIRA.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Ability to coordinate across multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and coordination among engineering disciplines, program management, and external stakeholders.
• Support Lead Systems Engineer and assume lead responsibilities when required.
• Develop and maintain requirements specifications, ICDs, V&V matrices, risk registers, and verification reports.
• Define and maintain requirements decomposition strategies across systems and subsystems.
• Perform requirements change-impact analysis based on contract changes.
• Lead reviews supporting PDR and CDR milestones; ensure requirements are complete and testable.
• Lead Risk and Opportunity meetings for technical/program teams.
• Develop verification strategies mapping requirements to test, analysis, inspection, and demonstration.
• Coordinate verification responsibilities across technical owners.
• Support Work Breakdown Structure development and technical schedules.

Skills

Systems thinking

Technical leadership

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Communication

Analytical/problem solving

Requirements management

Risk management

Stakeholder coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related STEM

Tools

DOORS

Jama

JIRA

Cameo

MagicDraw

Rhapsody

Job description

Aeronautical Engineer | Lead the Systems Engineering Behind Next-Generation Propulsion

Location: Elkton, MD 21921
Pay Rate: $65.00 - $75.00
Schedule: Monday‑Friday, First Shift | 9/80 Schedule | 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Job Type: Full-Time | Contract
On‑Site: Yes | Telework is not available
Travel: None
Clearance: Not required - US Citizenship required due to Government regulations!*

Engineer the Systems That Power the Mission

PDS Tech Commercial is partnering with a leader in the aviation industry to hire an accomplished Systems Engineer in Elkton, Maryland.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced systems engineering professional to make an immediate impact on the development of sophisticated propulsion systems and controls. You’ll support programs progressing through Critical Design Review (CDR), working across engineering disciplines to ensure requirements, designs, verification strategies, risks, and technical deliverables come together as one integrated solution.

You’ll work closely with the Lead Systems Engineer across two programs and have the opportunity to step into a technical leadership role when needed.

What You’ll Do

In this highly collaborative role, you’ll apply systems thinking to plan, coordinate, and execute critical technical activities throughout the development lifecycle.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Provide technical leadership and coordination among engineering disciplines, program management, and external stakeholders.
• Support the Lead Systems Engineer and assume lead responsibilities when required.
• Develop and maintain key systems engineering artifacts, including requirements specifications, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), V&V matrices, risk registers, and verification technical reports.
• Define and maintain requirements decomposition strategies across systems, subsystems, and engineering disciplines.
• Perform requirements change-impact analysis based on contract change notices and evolving design configurations.
• Lead requirements and technical reviews supporting PDR and CDR-level milestones, ensuring requirements are complete, consistent, feasible, and testable.
• Lead Risk and Opportunity meetings on behalf of technical and program teams.
• Develop comprehensive verification strategies that map requirements to verification methods, including test, analysis, inspection, and demonstration.
• Assign and coordinate verification responsibilities across appropriate technical owners.
• Support development of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and technical schedules based on systems engineering activities.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to identify and resolve requirements, integration, and design challenges.
• Communicate complex technical information clearly to engineering teams, program leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Build consensus across teams while developing strong working relationships throughout the organization.

Required Qualifications

We’re looking for an engineer with a strong systems perspective and demonstrated experience supporting complex technical programs.

Candidates should have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related STEM discipline.
• Professional experience performing systems engineering activities involving requirements, design, integration, or testing.
• Experience developing and managing clear, measurable, and testable requirements while maintaining a controlled requirements baseline.
• Experience establishing and maintaining requirements traceability from stakeholder needs through system and lower-level requirements, design, and testing.
• Experience supporting or leading formal technical reviews such as SRR, PDR, CDR, or equivalent design and requirements reviews.
• Experience running formal Risk Review Boards.
• Experience developing or contributing to Verification and Validation (V&V) plans.
• Understanding of verification methods including test, analysis, inspection, and demonstration.
• Experience performing requirements change-impact analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary engineering organizations to resolve requirements and design issues.
• Experience with at least one requirements management platform such as DOORS, Jama, JIRA, or a comparable tool.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, including identifying technical risks and developing appropriate mitigations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present technical information effectively to stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

Your background will stand out if you also bring experience with:

• U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, strategic deterrence, or related defense system programs.
• Solid rocket motors, propulsion systems, or related energetic systems, including performance, environmental, or testing considerations.
• Legacy system redesign and working within established legacy standards and requirements.
• Hands-on manufacturing environments.
• DoD contracting processes.
• Developing and executing subsystem-level V&V plans, including test requirements, test procedures, data review, and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
• Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and SysML.
• Cameo/MagicDraw, Rhapsody, or comparable MBSE tools.
• Integrating system models with requirements management platforms such as DOORS.
• Siemens Teamcenter or comparable Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and configuration management systems.
• Coordinating and developing Contract Data Requirements Lists (CDRLs) and other contractual technical deliverables.

Why Join Us?

Bring your systems expertise to a program where technical decisions have real impact.

At PDS Tech Commercial, you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside talented engineering professionals supporting a leader in the aviation industry. This isn’t simply about maintaining requirements. It’s about helping multidisciplinary teams transform complex requirements into an integrated propulsion solution.

In this role, you can expect:

• Highly competitive pay at $76.22 per hour
• A consistent first-shift schedule
• A 9/80 work schedule
• Exposure to challenging propulsion and systems engineering programs
• Opportunities to provide meaningful technical leadership
• Collaboration with experienced engineering, manufacturing, and program-management professionals
• Hands‑on involvement in major engineering milestones, including Critical Design Review
• The opportunity to expand your expertise in requirements management, V&V, risk management, configuration control, and complex system integration
• A culture centered on collaboration, technical excellence, accountability, and solving challenging engineering problems

Ready to Engineer What Comes Next?

If you’re a systems-minded engineer who can see the connections between requirements, design, risk, verification, and mission success, this is an opportunity to put that expertise to work.

Bring your technical leadership, systems engineering experience, and problem-solving skills to a team tackling challenging propulsion programs.

Pay Details: $65.00 to $75.00 per hour Benefit offerings available for our associates include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, additional voluntary benefits, EAP program, commuter benefits and a 401K plan. Our benefit offerings provide employees the flexibility to choose the type of coverage that meets their individual needs. In addition, our associates may be eligible for paid leave including Paid Sick Leave or any other paid leave required by Federal, State, or local law, as well as Holiday pay where applicable. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled Military connected talent encouraged to apply To read our Candidate Privacy Information Statement, which explains how we will use your information, please navigate to https://www.pdstech.com/candidate-privacy The Company will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and/or security clearance requirements, including, as applicable:

• The California Fair Chance Act
• Los Angeles City Fair Chance Ordinance
• Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers
• San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Massachusetts Candidates Only: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.