Space Protection Operations Engineer

VT Group (VTG); Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 197,000; Full time

Job summary

VTG is seeking a Space Protection Operations Engineer to join the Air Force, Space, and Intelligence Business Group in Chantilly, VA, delivering systems engineering and advisory services to a government IC customer developing next‑gen space and ground systems. The role may require weekly travel to the Washington, DC metro area.

The SME/SPO representative will coordinate with operators, developers, and stakeholders for deployment, testing, transitions to operations, training, O&M planning, and DR

Qualifications

• Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with Poly is required.
• Bachelor’s degree with 9+ years of experience (master’s +7 years possible in lieu).
• Experience in IC or DoW space acquisitions or mission operations.
• Experience deploying and sustaining software in 24/7 OPS centers or similar environments.
• Knowledge of agile software development principles.

Responsibilities

• Provides space protection operations mission expertise to acquisition managers and software engineers.
• Elicits system capability needs and UI/UX preferences from operators.
• Collaborates with developers to guide mission application enhancements.
• Manages the transition of new capabilities to operations.
• Leads review and coordination of system documentation and training materials.
• Evaluates solutions, guides software deployment, and assesses patches.

Skills

TS/SCI clearance

DoD/IC space ops

Agile software development

Software deployment in 24/7 ops

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

VTG is seeking a Space Protection Operations 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. This position may require weekly travel to other locations in the Washington, DC metro area.

What will you do?

The Space Protection Operations Engineer will serve as the subject matter expert (SME) and System Program Office (SPO) representative coordinating with end user operators, the developer, and other stakeholders for the deployment of new protection capabilities into space operations. The Space Protection Operations Engineer is the SPO’s on‑site agent for user‑engagement with operators of a space protection system and will collaborate with site users and SMEs within the SPO home office to support system testing, transition to operations planning, user/operator training, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) planning and Deficiency Report (DR) management, and be the focal point for representing SPO equities to the site’s Operations stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provides space protection operations mission expertise to acquisition managers and software engineers in the development of tools that provide operators Indications and Warning against Space threats.
• Elicits system capability needs and user interface/experience (UI/UX) preferences from operational users.
• Collaborates with software developers to inform/guide mission application enhancements.
• Manages the transition of new capabilities and software deliveries to operations.
• Leads the review and coordination of system documentation and training materials.
• Evaluates developer solutions, guides software deployment activities, and assesses software patches/fixes.

Required Qualifications

• Active Top Secret/SCI clearance with Poly.
• Bachelor’s and 9 or more years of experience; master’s and 7 or more years of experience; Extensive experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
• Experience in IC or DoW space acquisitions or mission operations.
• Experience deploying and sustaining software within a 24/7 operations center or similar environment.
• Knowledge of agile software development principles.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with DevOps, including continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment (CI/CD).
• Experience in Space Protection operations and familiarity with protection technologies.
• Experience authoring operator-related or software deployment documentation.
• Experience in Space system testing, simulation, and modeling environments.
• Knowledge of the fundamentals of orbital mechanics and orbit determination.

Pay Range

VTG’s estimated starting pay range is $130,000 - $197,000 annually, which is a general guideline for the geographic location. When extending an offer, VTG also considers work experience, education, skill level, market considerations and may possibly include contractual requirements which may cause an offer to fall outside of this range.