Space Protection Acquisition Engineer

SAIC; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC is seeking a Space Protection Acquisition Engineer to support the Air Force, Space, and Intelligence Business Group with systems engineering and advisory services for next‑gen space and ground systems.

The role emphasizes acquisition planning, cost estimation, and contract development, including RFIs/RFPs, SOWs, and ECPs, while monitoring third‑party cost performance against targets and aligning GEAC with the agency’s financial tools.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 14+ years of experience, or Master’s with 12+ years.
• Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with Poly.
• Experience in DoD or IC acquisition, procurement, and/or contracting processes and policies.
• Experience managing technical, cost, and/or schedule performance in system acquisitions over $50M.
• Familiarity with Confluence and JIRA.

Responsibilities

• Provides acquisition strategy, acquisition planning, and systems engineering expertise to support software development, implementation, and deployment of ground processing system software providing space protection capabilities.
• Leads the creation of Program Office Estimate (POE) models and works with stakeholders to formulate Agency Cost Positions (ACPs) and Independent Cost Estimates (ICEs), as required, to support pre-acquisition activities.
• Assists in development of Requests for Information/Proposal (RFIs/RFPs), Statements of Work (SOWs), ECPs, and other contract documents and supports technical evaluation of developer responses.
• Monitors, evaluates, and reports third-party Developer’s cost performance in delivering contract requirements within negotiated targets and develops courses of action for the Government customer based on findings and assessments.
• Assists the program office in its planning, programming, and budget execution cycle and provides overall administration of the Government Estimate at Completion (GEAC) for its programs ensuring synchronization with the agency’s financial tracking tool.

Skills

Acquisition strategy

DoD/IC acquisitions

Cost management

Program management

Contracting processes

Budget/ACE involvement

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

PhD

Tools

Confluence

JIRA

Job description

Description

SAIC is seeking a Space Protection Acquisition Engineer to join the Air Force, Space, and Intelligence Business Group providing systems engineering and technical advisory services to a rapidly expanding Government Intelligence Community (IC) customer. The customer is developing the next generation of space and ground systems, architectures, and hardware and software solutions.

Responsibilities

• Provides acquisition strategy, acquisition planning, and systems engineering expertise to support software development, implementation, and deployment of ground processing system software providing space protection capabilities.
• Leads the creation of Program Office Estimate (POE) models and works with stakeholders to formulate Agency Cost Positions (ACPs) and Independent Cost Estimates (ICEs), as required, to support pre-acquisition activities.
• Assists in development of Requests for Information/Proposal (RFIs/RFPs), Statements of Work (SOWs), ECPs, and other contract documents and supports technical evaluation of developer responses.
• Monitors, evaluates, and reports third-party Developer’s cost performance in delivering contract requirements within negotiated targets and develops courses of action for the Government customer based on findings and assessments.
• Assists the program office in its planning, programming, and budget execution cycle and provides overall administration of the Government Estimate at Completion (GEAC) for its programs ensuring synchronization with the agency’s financial tracking tool.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s and 14 or more years of experience; master’s and 12 or more years of experience; PhD and 9 or more years of experience.
• Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with Poly.
• Experience in DoD or IC acquisition, procurement, and/or contracting processes and policies.
• Experience managing technical, cost, and/or schedule performance in system acquisitions over $50M.
• Familiarity with Confluence and JIRA.

Desired:

• Experience acquiring space capabilities and/or managing space/ground software programs.
• Experience in proposal/bid generation.
• Experience in financial management and cost forecasting.
• Experience in source selections.
• Experience in Major System Acquisitions (MSAs) acquisitions over $500M.
• Proficiency with Atlassian tool suite (Jira, Confluence, etc.).

Target salary range: $200,001 - $240,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.