Senior Systems Engineer, Space Systems

Actalent; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 119,000 - 208,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Job summary

Actalent in Herndon, VA seeks a Senior Systems Engineer to design, develop, and integrate first-of-a-kind electromagnetic and power systems for spacecraft payloads and small satellites. You will lead complex programs, set system-level objectives, and coordinate across teams in highly constrained defense and intelligence environments.

You will guide deployments, manage budgets, and mentor staff while maintaining strict confidentiality and compliance with safety standards.

Qualifications

• Progressive engineering experience typically consisting of twelve or more years with a bachelors degree, ten or more years with a masters degree, or seven or more years with a PhD.
• Detailed and extensive technical expertise in engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice, with demonstrated ability to organize, plan, schedule, conduct, and coordinate workloads to meet established deadlines and milestones.
• Real-world experience with system architecture, including defining and documenting system-level designs and interfaces.
• Hands-on experience with requirements tracking, including developing, managing, and verifying system requirements throughout the lifecycle.
• Experience developing and tracking system budgets, including performance, power, mass, and other resource allocations at the system level.
• Proven ability to perform system-level analyses in support of trade studies and mission design decisions.
• Extensive experience with orbital dynamics, attitude control systems, and orbital visualization tools used in spacecraft modeling and mission analysis.
• Strong understanding of principles for spacecraft design, build, test, and operation, including end-to-end lifecycle considerations.
• Experience with CONOPS (Concept of Operations) design and mission modeling for space or mission-critical systems.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills that enable effective collaboration with other departments, customers, government representatives, and professionals at all levels.
• Ability to represent the organization as a prime technical contact, communicating complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated capability to provide leadership and guidance to less experienced professionals and contribute to project leadership activities.
• Ability to quickly understand new concepts and apply them accurately in an evolving technical and operational environment.

Responsibilities

• Formulate long-term plans for the development, documentation, and deployment of engineering solutions, ensuring alignment with compliance, reporting, and safety standards.
• Determine technical objectives and system-level approaches to solve advanced engineering problems across spacecraft payloads, small satellites, and related mission systems.
• Evaluate the integration of engineering solutions within the broader engineering environment and ensure that documentation, testing, maintenance, and updates are thoroughly completed.
• Guide the development and implementation of engineering solutions, including defining deployment strategies, resource requirements, integration plans, testing approaches, and compliance measures.
• Plan and coordinate ongoing maintenance of engineering solutions, including documentation, reporting, publishing technical materials, and delivering presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively with engineering professionals, solution users, and management throughout the solution development lifecycle to ensure technical clarity and alignment.
• Represent the organization as a prime technical contact on contracts and projects, interfacing with Senior external personnel on technical matters that require coordination between organizations.
• Participate in, and at times lead, the development of new business opportunities or the expansion of existing programs by contributing technical insight and solution strategies.
• Function in an advisory or project leadership role, providing direction, guidance, and mentorship to less experienced professional staff and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Plan for future applications and enhancements of existing solutions by monitoring and incorporating new developments in engineering technology and space systems.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of sensitive and classified information associated with national security and government programs.
• Ensure all work adheres to applicable laws, regulations, and organizational obligations, and consistently work in a safe manner in accordance with established operating procedures and practices.
• Perform additional engineering and technical duties as assigned to support evolving program and mission needs.

Skills

System architecture

Requirements tracking

Budgeting (performance/power/mass)

Orbital dynamics

Attitude control systems

Orbital visualization tools

CONOPS design

Communication

Leadership

Adaptability

Education

Engineering degree (Bachelors/Masters/PhD)

Tools

Orbital visualization tools

Spacecraft modeling tools

Ground control software

Embedded software development

Job description

Job Title: Senior Systems Engineer Electromagnetic & Space Systems

This Senior Systems Engineer role focuses on the design, development, and integration of first-of-a-kind electromagnetic and electric power generation systems, with a strong emphasis on spacecraft payloads, small satellites, and advanced mission solutions for national security applications. You will exercise significant technical autonomy, define system-level objectives, and lead complex engineering efforts that deliver innovative, highly functional solutions in extremely constrained environments for defense and intelligence customers.

Responsibilities

• Formulate long-term plans for the development, documentation, and deployment of engineering solutions, ensuring alignment with compliance, reporting, and safety standards.
• Determine technical objectives and system-level approaches to solve advanced engineering problems across spacecraft payloads, small satellites, and related mission systems.
• Evaluate the integration of engineering solutions within the broader engineering environment and ensure that documentation, testing, maintenance, and updates are thoroughly completed.
• Guide the development and implementation of engineering solutions, including defining deployment strategies, resource requirements, integration plans, testing approaches, and compliance measures.
• Plan and coordinate ongoing maintenance of engineering solutions, including documentation, reporting, publishing technical materials, and delivering presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively with engineering professionals, solution users, and management throughout the solution development lifecycle to ensure technical clarity and alignment.
• Represent the organization as a prime technical contact on contracts and projects, interfacing with Senior external personnel on technical matters that require coordination between organizations.
• Participate in, and at times lead, the development of new business opportunities or the expansion of existing programs by contributing technical insight and solution strategies.
• Function in an advisory or project leadership role, providing direction, guidance, and mentorship to less experienced professional staff and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Plan for future applications and enhancements of existing solutions by monitoring and incorporating new developments in engineering technology and space systems.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of sensitive and classified information associated with national security and government programs.
• Ensure all work adheres to applicable laws, regulations, and organizational obligations, and consistently work in a safe manner in accordance with established operating procedures and practices.
• Perform additional engineering and technical duties as assigned to support evolving program and mission needs.

Essential Skills

• Bachelors degree, masters degree, or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution, or equivalent engineering experience in lieu of formal education.
• Progressive engineering experience typically consisting of twelve or more years with a bachelors degree, ten or more years with a masters degree, or seven or more years with a PhD.
• Detailed and extensive technical expertise in engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice, with demonstrated ability to organize, plan, schedule, conduct, and coordinate workloads to meet established deadlines and milestones.
• Real-world experience with system architecture, including defining and documenting system-level designs and interfaces.
• Hands-on experience with requirements tracking, including developing, managing, and verifying system requirements throughout the lifecycle.
• Experience developing and tracking system budgets, including performance, power, mass, and other resource allocations at the system level.
• Proven ability to perform system-level analyses in support of trade studies and mission design decisions.
• Extensive experience with orbital dynamics, attitude control systems, and orbital visualization tools used in spacecraft modeling and mission analysis.
• Strong understanding of principles for spacecraft design, build, test, and operation, including end-to-end lifecycle considerations.
• Experience with CONOPS (Concept of Operations) design and mission modeling for space or mission-critical systems.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills that enable effective collaboration with other departments, customers, government representatives, and professionals at all levels.
• Ability to represent the organization as a prime technical contact, communicating complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated capability to provide leadership and guidance to less experienced professionals and contribute to project leadership activities.
• Ability to quickly understand new concepts and apply them accurately in an evolving technical and operational environment.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience working on spacecraft payload and system development, particularly in environments requiring very large functionality in small, power-constrained platforms such as small satellites.
• Background in unique system development, ground control and operational software development, and embedded software development for mission-critical applications.
• Exposure to unique cyber capabilities and security-focused engineering solutions for national security programs.
• Experience collaborating with defense and intelligence community customers and familiarity with their mission environments and expectations.
• Demonstrated business development participation, including contributing to proposals, customer briefings, and expansion of existing programs.
• Ability to develop innovative designs and solutions for advanced technical challenges in the national security arena.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to interface effectively with all levels of management, professional and support staff, customers, potential customers, and government personnel.
• Commitment to maintaining confidentiality and handling sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.

Work Environment

This role is based onsite in a smaller, highly specialized business unit environment, offering a close-knit, collaborative culture where you will not feel like just another cog in the wheel. The team operates on a 9/80 work schedule, providing a structured yet flexible rhythm that supports work-life balance. You will work directly with advanced technologies related to small satellites for the intelligence community, spacecraft modeling tools, orbital visualization software, and mission design systems. The environment emphasizes hands-on engineering, multidisciplinary collaboration, adherence to safety procedures, and strict confidentiality due to the national security focus of the work.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Herndon, VA.

Pay And Benefits

The pay range for this position is $118500.00 - $207750.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

will ask TA and send to recruiters who need it!

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Herndon, VA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 9, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Herndon,VA.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: 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 subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.