Principal Engineer, Mission Systems (R4603)
Team: V-BAT Engineering - Mechanical
Location: San Diego, California, Dallas, Texas, Washington, DC, Boston, MA
Commitment: Full Time Employee
Workplace Type: onsite
Job Description:
This engineer for mission systems will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for the end-to-end engineering of mission systems on advanced next-generation unmanned aircraft, including RF and optical/infrared sensors (Radar, IRST, EO/IR, etc..), Electronic Warfare, and associated support systems. This individual will shape the technical direction of programs, ensuring that the aircraft delivers decisive mission capabilities through robust, integrated, and certifiable system designs.
In this role, the engineer will drive mission system architectures, lead requirement development and allocation, and oversee system integration from concept through flight test and fielding. They will ensure that mission systems, avionics, and weapons are seamlessly integrated into the aircraft while meeting mission performance, safety, airworthiness, and compliance objectives.
What you'll do:
- Develop mission systems requirements and architectures to ensure overall system effectiveness
- Select mission system baselines through make vs buy trades and vendor engagements
- Develop the integration & test verification plan to include resources from bench-level hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) to flight test
- Define mission system software architectures including baseline processing and advanced algorithm development
- Drive trade studies and system-of-systems analysis to balance performance, cost, and schedule
- Serve as a technical subject matter expert for mission systems engineering across the aircraft program
- Ensure compliance with MIL-HDBK-516C, DO-178C, DO-254, and related standards
- Collaborate with program management to de-risk architectures and ensure technical maturity gates are met
- Interface with customers, partners, and suppliers to align system requirements and certifications
Required qualifications:
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field
- 15+ years of relevant aerospace/defense experience, with at least 5 years in aircraft mission systems integration
- Demonstrated experience with designing or integrating aircraft mission systems (Radar, EO/IR, EW, etc…)
- Working knowledge of Government modular open system approach (MOSA) standards to include open mission systems (OMS), Government Reference Architectures (GRA) or modular avionics standards.
- Strong knowledge of current aircraft mission systems vendors and capabilities
- Proven ability to work in multidisciplinary teams and deliver complex systems to fielded capability
- Strong knowledge of systems engineering processes and product development lifecycle
- Familiarity with DO-178C/DO-254 certification requirements for software and hardware
- Excellent communication skills and ability to brief technical findings to executives and customers
- Active Secret clearance and have the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance.
Preferred qualifications:
- Master’s or PhD in Aerospace, Systems, or Electrical Engineering
- Hands-on experience with flight test operations and mission system validation
- Experience with designing or integrating multiple mission system sensor types (RF, optical, etc..)
- Knowledge of international customer domestic mission systems
- Direct experience integrating advanced sensors with autonomy and weapons
- Experience with integrating mission systems onto unmanned aircraft systems
- Background in model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and SysML tools
- Active DoD Top Secret and/or SCI clearance
There are more than 50,000 engineering jobs:
Subscribe to membership and unlock all jobs
Engineering Jobs
60,000+ jobs from 4,500+ well-funded companies
Updated Daily
New jobs are added every day as companies post them
Refined Search
Use filters like skill, location, etc to narrow results
Become a member
🥳🥳🥳 452 happy customers and counting...
Overall, over 80% of customers chose to renew their subscriptions after the initial sign-up.
To try it out
For active job seekers
For those who are passive looking
Cancel anytime
Frequently Asked Questions
- We prioritize job seekers as our customers, unlike bigger job sites, by charging a small fee to provide them with curated access to the best companies and up-to-date jobs. This focus allows us to deliver a more personalized and effective job search experience.
- We've got over 200,000 jobs from 15,000+ vetted companies. No fake or sleazy jobs here!
- We aggregate jobs from 15,000+ companies' career pages, so you can be sure that you're getting the most up-to-date and relevant jobs.
- We're the only job board *for* software engineers, *by* software engineers… in case you needed a reminder! We add thousands of new jobs daily and offer powerful search filters just for you. 🛠️
- Every single hour! We add 2,000-3,000 new jobs daily, so you'll always have fresh opportunities. 🚀
- Typically, job searches take 3-6 months. EchoJobs helps you spend more time applying and less time hunting. 🎯
- Check daily! We're always updating with new jobs. Set up job alerts for even quicker access. 📅
What Fellow Engineers Say