Space Systems Engineer - Acquisition & Integration (Intermediate)

Socket.dev; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Stellar Solutions is seeking a Space Systems Engineer – Acquisition & Integration to support a national security space program. You will provide systems engineering, acquisition support, and advisory services to government program offices responsible for SBST capabilities and related space systems.

The role requires a strong foundation in systems engineering and national security space programs, with collaboration across government teams, primes, and contractors to advance from development to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, CS, Mathematics, or another STEM field.
• 6–10 years of relevant space systems engineering, integration, acquisition support, program management, or mission assurance.
• Experience with government space programs or DoD/IC organizations is desirable.
• Experience in technical advisory roles, SETA, or prime contractor environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide systems engineering and program office advisory support for space-based sensing and related capabilities.
• Support government program offices in acquisition strategy, requirements, architecture assessments, and transition-to-operations activities.
• Coordinate cross‑functional program execution with government teams, primes, contractors, and stakeholders.
• Develop system requirements, technical specifications, architecture products, interface docs, and risk/mitigation artifacts.
• Assess interfaces, data flows, and operational workflows to inform technical recommendations.
• Evaluate transition readiness as capabilities move from development to operations.
• Support technical reviews, readiness assessments, and milestone discussions with stakeholders.
• Create technical reports, executive briefings, and decision-support materials.
• Collaborate across systems engineering, mission integration, acquisition support, and digital engineering teams.

Skills

Systems engineering

Acquisition support

Program management

Mission assurance

Technical advisory

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Job description

Overview

Stellar Solutions, a nationally recognized Great Place To Work®, delivers engineering solutions across commercial space and national security missions—from innovative new entrants to established government and aerospace organizations.

We bring talented, energetic, and immediately productive professionals to meet critical customer needs in systems engineering and integration, mission operations, program management, acquisition support, and strategic planning—helping our customers deliver resilient mission capability with speed, quality, and technical excellence.

Stellar Solutions is seeking a Space Systems Engineer – Acquisition & Integration to support a proposed national security space program. This position provides systems engineering, technical advisory, and acquisition support to government program offices responsible for delivering next‑generation Space‑Based Sensing and Targeting (SBST) capabilities.

Role/Responsibilities/Qualifications

The successful candidate will work closely with government customers, systems engineers, acquisition professionals, development contractors, FFRDCs, and mission stakeholders to support technical planning, systems integration, architecture assessments, program execution, and the transition of capabilities from development into operations. Depending on customer priorities, the role may support space, ground, mission processing, data transport, cloud/edge computing, and operational mission environments.

The ideal candidate has a solid foundation in systems engineering and national security space programs and is eager to grow into a broader technical advisory role supporting complex acquisition efforts.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide systems engineering and program office advisory support for Space‑Based Sensing and Targeting (SBST), Environmental Monitoring, AMTI, GMTI, mission‑data transport, ground processing, and related space‑based sensing capabilities.
• Support government program offices in integrating technical planning, acquisition strategy, requirements development, architecture assessments, development oversight, test planning, and transition‑to‑operations activities.
• Coordinate program execution across government teams, prime contractors, developers, FFRDCs, and mission stakeholders by identifying dependencies, technical risks, decision points, and actions needed to maintain program execution.
• Support development and review of system requirements, technical specifications, architecture products, interface documentation, security constraints, risk registers, Plans of Action & Milestones (POA&Ms), and acquisition decision materials.
• Assess system interfaces, software and hardware changes, ground‑system integration, mission‑data flows, and operational workflows while providing technical recommendations to government stakeholders.
• Evaluate operational suitability and sustainment readiness as capabilities transition from development and test into operational environments.
• Support technical reviews, engineering reviews, readiness assessments, acquisition milestones, and contractor performance discussions through technical analysis and recommendations.
• Develop technical reports, executive briefings, spreadsheets, risk assessments, technical analyses, and decision‑support products for government leadership and program stakeholders.
• Collaborate across systems engineering, mission integration, acquisition support, digital engineering, mission assurance, and mission‑performance teams to support successful program execution.
• Support additional systems engineering and technical advisory activities as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, or another relevant STEM discipline.
• 6–10 years of relevant experience supporting space systems engineering, systems integration, acquisition support, program management, mission assurance, or related national security space programs.
• Experience supporting Department of Defense, United States Space Force, Intelligence Community, NRO, SSC, SDA, MDA, or similar government organizations.
• Experience supporting government program offices, systems engineering organizations, development contractors, or FFRDCs in a technical advisory, SETA, government, or prime contractor environment.
• Experience supporting one or more of the following:
  • Systems engineering
  • Technical program management
  • Requirements development
  • System integration
  • Architecture analysis
  • Test and evaluation
  • Acquisition support
• Ability to identify technical risks and contribute to engineering and acquisition recommendations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to prepare technical documentation and executive briefings.
• Ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary government and contractor teams.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience supporting national security space programs.
• Experience with space or ground systems, mission processing, satellite communications, command‑and‑control, ISR/GEOINT, radar/RF sensing, cloud computing, or mission‑data architectures.
• Experience supporting technical reviews, engineering boards, readiness reviews, or acquisition milestone activities.
• Familiarity with acquisition documentation including Statements of Work (SOWs), Performance Work Statements (PWSs), Contract Data Requirements Lists (CDRLs), Requests for Proposal (RFPs), or contractor technical oversight.
• Familiarity with Digital Engineering or Model‑Based Systems Engineering (MBSE).
• DAU coursework, DAWIA certification, or other acquisition‑related professional training.

Clearance & Additional Requirements

• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain customer site access.
• Ability to travel periodically to customer and temporary work locations as required.

Deliverable(s)

This is an opportunity to help shape the future of national security space. Working alongside government leaders, industry partners, and technical experts, you’ll influence the engineering, acquisition, and integration decisions that bring next‑generation space capabilities from concept to operational reality.