Systems Architect Engineer - New Business Proposals

York Space Systems; Greenwood Village (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

York Space Systems is seeking a Systems Architect Engineer to lead end-to-end architecture development for capture and proposal efforts. You will translate customer mission needs into credible architectures for USSF, SSC, IC, NASA, and DoW contracts, coordinating with engineering and partners to ensure executable solutions.

Based in Greenwood Village, CO, this role requires collaboration across systems engineering, payload, bus, RF/comms, and mission assurance teams, with a focus on SWaP-C

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field.
• 5+ years direct systems engineering and architecture experience in space hardware.
• Experience supporting government contractor capture/proposal efforts.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture design for spacecraft bus, payload, ground, and mission systems in response to RFIs and RFPs.
• Translate mission requirements into system-level architectures and CONOPS.
• Perform architecture trades (SWaP-C, reliability, maturity, schedule) and mitigate risks.
• Support make/buy decisions and teaming with partners and suppliers.
• Collaborate with multiple engineering teams to ensure feasibility and schedule compliance.
• Author and edit technical volumes, diagrams, and compliance matrices.
• Interface with government customers and industry partners during capture activities.
• Ensure architectures align with standards and can be handed off to engineering.

Skills

Strong communication

Systems thinking

Independent worker

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant engineering

Tools

SysML/MBSE tools

Job description

York is seeking a Systems Architect Engineer to lead technical design for new business capture and proposal efforts across our business portfolio. This role sits at the intersection of engineering and business development, translating customer mission needs into winning, technically credible architectures for pursuits with Commercial customers, the U.S. Space Force (USSF), Space Systems Command (SSC), the Intelligence Community (IC), NASA, and the Department of War (DoW).

The Systems Architect Engineer will own end-to-end system architecture development during capture and proposal phases, from concept formulation through technical volume authorship, cost/technical trade studies, and orals support. The Systems Architect Engineer works closely with internal engineering disciplines and external suppliers and mission partners to ensure proposed solutions are compliant, differentiated, affordable, and executable.

This position reports directly to the Director of Systems Architecture and plays a key role in maturing our technical solutioning process across a rapidly expanding new business pipeline.

This role will be fully on-site in our Greenwood Village, Colorado office.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture design for spacecraft bus, payload, ground, and mission systems solutions in response to RFIs, draft RFPs, RFPs, BAAs, IDIQ, TOs/DOs, OTAs, and Sources Sought notices from USSF, USSF-SSC, IC, NASA, Commercial, and DoW customers.
• Translate customer space mission requirements into system-level architectures, concept of operations (CONOPS), and functional/performance requirements.
• Perform space-domain architecture trades including orbit selection, constellation sizing, power/thermal budgeting, launch vehicle integration constraints, and satellite cross-links.
• Develop and present architecture trade studies (SWaP-C, reliability, maturity, schedule) to support concept refinement and pricing strategy. Identify and mitigate technical and execution risks.
• Support make/buy decisions and teaming by assessing partner technical capabilities against architecture needs and co-developing systems and interfaces.
• Collaborate with Systems Engineering, Payload, Bus, RF/Comms, Ground, and Mission Assurance teams to ensure technical solutions are feasible, cost-realistic, and schedule-compliant.
• Author and edit technical volumes, architecture diagrams, and compliance matrices in coordination with Capture Managers, Proposal Managers, and Subject Matter Experts.
• Interface directly with government customers, FFRDCs, and industry partners during capture activities, industry days, and technical interchange meetings.
• Partner with Chief Engineer and Program Management organizations to ensure proposal architectures are executable and consistent with company technical baselines; ensure architectures align with relevant standards and frameworks.
• Participate in black hats and color team reviews (Pink, Red, Gold) to refine and strengthen technical solution content.
• Contribute to the maturation of reusable architecture frameworks, templates, and technical solution libraries to improve proposal efficiency across future pursuits.
• Maintain awareness of competitive landscape and emerging technical requirements across USSF/SSC, IC, NASA, and DoW customer sets to inform architecture strategy on future pursuits.

This role will not have direct reports.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of direct systems engineering/architecture experience in space mission hardware, satellite buses, payloads, or ground segment design.
• 3+ years working product development and supporting proposal or capture efforts in a government contractor environment.
• Proven track record architecting space mission solutions, including hands-on experience with mission CONOPS, trade studies, and payload integration.
• Working knowledge of USSF/SSC acquisition processes, and familiarity with NASA and/or IC space system procurement environments.
• Experience authoring or contributing to technical volumes for competitive proposals or technical documentation for executing programs.
• Strong command of systems engineering tools and practices (including SysML/MBSE toolchains).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to distill complex architectures for both technical evaluators and executive audiences.

• Strong motivation to conceptualize and design new ideas from near‑scratch, developing architectures that are feasible, defensible, and ready for handoff to engineering for refinement.
• Demonstrated ability to work proactively, independently, and with minimal direction in fast-paced capture/proposal environments with short lifecycles.

• U.S. Citizenship.

• Ability and willingness to obtain security clearance.
• Willingness to work full-time in office in Greenwood Village, CO.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance.