Systems Engineering Lead

Actalent; United States; Hybrid; USD 79,000 - 112,000; Full time

Job summary

Actalent is seeking an experienced Systems Engineering Lead to direct a next-generation rail operations platform. You will own requirements management, customer engagement, proposals, and engineering processes while growing into a leadership role.

You will lead cross-functional teams, drive requirements traceability, and mentor engineers. The role blends technical depth with people leadership and customer interaction in a hybrid setting in Melbourne, FL.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Systems Engineering experience.
• Strong understanding of the full Systems Engineering lifecycle.
• Requirements analysis, decomposition, and traceability.
• V-Model development experience.
• Customer-facing technical leadership.
• Technical proposal development and requirements generation.

Responsibilities

• Lead systems engineering activities across multiple product and customer programs.
• Serve as the primary customer-facing systems engineering representative.
• Drive requirements elicitation, decomposition, allocation, and traceability.
• Convert customer needs and technical proposals into executable engineering requirements.
• Support proposal development and capture activities.
• Lead daily standups and engineering coordination efforts.
• Improve systems engineering processes, workflows, and best practices.
• Support migration from ClearQuest to JIRA.
• Develop requirements documentation, RTMs, ICDs, test plans, and verification artifacts.
• Mentor engineers and grow into formal people leadership.

Skills

Customer-facing leadership

Requirements management

Systems engineering lifecycle

Proposal development

Tools

DOORS

JIRA

ClearQuest

RTMs

ICDs

Job description

Systems Engineering Lead

Seeking an experienced Systems Engineer to serve as the technical lead across a next-generation rail operations platform. This individual will own requirements management, customer engagement, technical proposals, systems engineering processes, and cross-functional execution while growing into a future leadership role.

Top Responsibilities

• Lead systems engineering activities across multiple product and customer programs
• Serve as the primary customer-facing systems engineering representative
• Drive requirements elicitation, decomposition, allocation, and traceability
• Convert customer needs and technical proposals into executable engineering requirements
• Support proposal development and capture activities
• Lead daily standups and engineering coordination efforts
• Improve systems engineering processes, workflows, and best practices
• Support migration from ClearQuest to JIRA
• Develop requirements documentation, RTMs, ICDs, test plans, and verification artifacts
• Mentor engineers and grow into formal people leadership

Required Experience

• 8+ years of Systems Engineering experience
• Strong understanding of the full Systems Engineering lifecycle
• Requirements analysis, decomposition, and traceability
• V-Model development experience
• Customer-facing technical leadership
• Technical proposal development and requirements generation
• Experience with:
  • DOORS
  • JIRA
  • ClearQuest
  • Requirements Traceability Matrices (RTMs)
  • Verification & Validation
  • Interface Control Documents (ICDs)

Preferred Backgrounds

• Rail signaling
• Train control systems
• Transportation technologies
• SCADA systems
• Industrial automation
• Aerospace
• Defense
• Safety-critical systems

Ideal Candidate Profile

The best candidate is not necessarily the deepest technical specialist. They are someone who:

• Understands systems engineering from proposal through deployment
• Can challenge existing processes and identify inefficiencies
• Is comfortable interfacing directly with customers
• Thinks at the product level rather than the project level
• Can coordinate multiple engineering disciplines
• Has aspirations to grow into a Systems Engineering Manager role

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Melbourne, FL.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $57.00 - $81.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your jobclassification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may besubject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefitsavailable for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Melbourne,FL.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 6, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications withoutregard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protectedby law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in thecity and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicantswith arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as acondition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this lawshall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applicationsand qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, youacknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.