Systems Engineer Senior Principal

SAIC; California (MD); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC is seeking a highly experienced Lead Systems Engineer (Senior Principal) to support the PMA234 Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Systems Program Office. You will guide engineering decisions, perform rigorous evaluations, and coordinate with government, contractors, and stakeholders to ensure system performance and compliance.

Key responsibilities include leading technical evaluations, coordinating meetings, and maintaining program baselines.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field required.
• 14+ years of DoD/NAVAIR-like systems engineering experience.
• Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels (verbal and written).
• Interim Secret clearance required to start; ability to obtain/maintain Secret clearance.
• Travel: 10% to program offices, shipyards, and/or test ranges.

Responsibilities

• Lead the review, analysis, and acceptance of engineering documents (SOWs, CDRLs, technical proposals, SETR artifacts, maturity assessments, requirements compliance).
• Identify deficiencies, develop recommended solutions, and communicate engineering impacts to program leadership.
• Coordinate technical meetings with contractors, PMA domestic team, and stakeholders; represent engineering in PMRs, reviews, SETR events, and working groups.
• Prepare and review technical documentation supporting baselines (ECPs, ICDs, requirements changes, testing verifications).
• Draft formal letters, memos, evaluations, and correspondence for government customers.
• Coordinate with engineering, logistics, fleet support teams, and contractors to resolve issues across the lifecycle.
• Support SETR events, conduct trade studies, data analysis, and assess alignment with budgets, schedules, and performance.

Skills

Systems engineering leadership

Communication skills

NAVAIR/DoD SE processes

ECP development/review

Airworthiness / CyberSafe

Team leadership

Security clearances (Interim Secret/SS

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical/scientific discipline

Job description

SAIC is seeking a highly experienced Lead Systems Engineer (Senior Principal) to support the PMA234 Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Systems Program Office, providing direct engineering expertise to the one of several programs within PMA234, the IPT Lead (IPTL), and Class Desk.

In this role, you will guide engineering decisions, conduct rigorous technical evaluations, and coordinate across government, contractor, and stakeholders to ensure system performance, maintainability, and technical compliance. These are high visibility positions that directly influences engineering and programmatic outcomes for critical Navy electronic attack capabilities.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Evaluation & Systems Engineering Leadership

• Lead the review, analysis, and acceptance of engineering documents including SOWs, CDRLs, technical proposals, SETR artifacts, technical maturity assessments, and program requirements compliance.
• Identify deficiencies, develop recommended solutions, and communicate engineering impacts to program leadership.
• Conduct in depth analysis of specifications, data packages, and suitability/supportability documentation.

Program & Stakeholder Coordination

• Coordinate and facilitate technical meetings involving contractors, the PMA domestic team, and other stakeholders.
• Represent engineering in PMRs, technical reviews, SETR events, working groups, conferences, and related program activities.
• Prepare briefings, track action items, and maintain accurate records in Program Management Databases.

Documentation & Baseline Management

• Prepare or review technical documentation supporting the program baselines: ECPs, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Requirements and requirement changes, Product Test Verifications, Investigations, analyses, engineering assessments.

Assist with drafting formal letters, memos, technical evaluations, and other correspondence for the government customer.

Cross Discipline & Cross Organization Integration

• Coordinate with engineering, logistics, fleet support teams (FST), and contractor personnel to resolve technical issues across the system lifecycle.
• Maintain strong communication channels between PMA IPTs, U.S. Navy stakeholders, contractors, and international partners.
• Provide executive level communication, ensuring alignment between engineering teams and Program Leadership.

Trade Studies, Requirements, and SETR Participation

• Lead or support SETR events, providing technical insight into system maturity, requirements verification, architecture updates, and design progress.
• Perform trade studies, research, and data analysis to support engineering and programmatic decision-making.
• Assess operational requirements and ensure alignment with budgeting, schedules, and performance objectives.

Cost, Schedule, and Performance Impact Analysis

• Evaluate impacts of new technologies, modifications, or requirement changes on system cost, schedule, and operational performance.
• Present findings and recommendations to government leadership to support milestone decisions.

Why Join This Program

Direct influence on critical Airborne Electronic Attack systems supporting U.S. and international partners.

High visibility to Navy leadership and the opportunity to shape engineering strategy across complex EW systems.

Engage in meaningful, impactful systems engineering that strengthens Fleet capability and global interoperability.

Be part of a collaborative, high performing engineering team trusted to deliver on mission-critical requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical/scientific discipline.
• 14+ years of relevant Systems Engineering experience in DoD, NAVAIR, or similar acquisition environments.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders at all levels, both verbally and in writing.
• Clearance: Interim Secret required to start; ability to obtain/maintain a Secret clearance.
• Travel: 10% to program offices, shipyards, and/or test ranges.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Advanced knowledge of Navy and NAVAIR engineering processes.
• Top Secret clearance.
• Prior experience in:
  • Leading engineering teams or providing engineering leadership
  • Systems Engineering APMSE support
  • NAVAIR SETR processes (SRR/SFR/PDR/CDR)
  • Systems Engineering Transformation (SET)
  • Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) development/review
  • Airworthiness and CyberSafe processes