Senior Systems Engineer

Location: Colorado Springs

Department: Space Domain

Why This Role Matters

The Senior Systems Engineer owns how TacSRT works end to end — the requirements, interfaces, and data models that connect tasking to collection to delivered product. You lead systems engineering for the TacSRT capability, work directly with CCMD, Space Component, and commercial provider stakeholders, and make the tradeoffs between sensor choice, timeline, and fidelity defensible. The system has to behave predictably in degraded conditions, not only when every sensor is available.

What You Own

• Lead systems engineering for the TacSRT collection-to-product capability end to end.
• Own requirements, interfaces, and data modeling for that capability with clear traceability to mission need.
• Perform and document trade studies — sensor selection, collection approach, commercial versus organic — with defensible rationale.
• Define expected behavior in normal, degraded, and edge-case conditions, including denied collection and sensor unavailability.
• Take capabilities from concept through requirements, architecture input, implementation support, and verification.
• Manage cross-team dependencies and surface schema, interface, or tasking changes before they reach other teams.
• Serve as the default point of contact for TacSRT system questions, and mentor Associate and mid-level engineers on requirements quality.

What You Bring

Required Education & Experience

• High School Diploma/GED and 8+ years of relevant experience, OR
• Associate degree in a related field and 6+ years of relevant experience, OR
• Bachelor’s degree in Science, Engineering, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Mathematics, or related field and 4+ years of relevant experience, OR
• Master’s degree in a related field and 2+ years of relevant experience

Must-Have

• Hands-on ISR operations experience: collection management, GEOINT analysis, or all-source production in a joint or operational environment.
• Demonstrated ownership of requirements and interfaces for a capability, including traceability from requirement through verification.
• Experience performing and documenting trade studies where mission impact, timeline, and fidelity had to be weighed against each other.
• Working knowledge of commercial imagery across EO, SAR, and RF — revisit, tasking constraints, and behavior when collection degrades.
• Applied familiarity with structured analytic standards (ICD 203/206): sourcing, confidence language, and stating known gaps.
• Demonstrated ability to brief senior military or civilian stakeholders and manage cross-domain dependencies.

Preferred

• Active TS/SCI, which removes the adjudication window that otherwise delays mission contribution.
• JCO TacSRT 201, EMSO JCO 202, or equivalent Joint Commercial Operations operator training.
• GEOINT certification or NGA imagery analyst accreditation, or Space 200/300, Orbital Mechanics, or NSSI coursework.
• Working familiarity with the Joint Planning Process and USSPACECOM / U.S. Space Force component relationships.