Systems Engineer

Job Description

Description


SAIC is seeking a mid- to senior-level Systems Engineer to support the eXtensible Flight System (XFS), a configurable, modular software product used to develop advanced flight displays. In this role, you will lead and support systems engineering activities across the lifecycle of safety-critical avionics software developed under DO-178C (DAL C) objectives.

You will work closely with software, test, and human-factors/UX engineers to translate operational and certification requirements into well-structured system and software requirements, architectures, interfaces, and verification strategies. This position is ideal for an engineer who thrives on rigorous requirements engineering, system architecture, and disciplined verification in a standards-driven aerospace environment. This role will be onsite in Huntsville, AL.

Responsibilities and Duties

Requirements Development & Management

• Elicit, analyze, and document system-level and software-level requirements for XFS-based flight display capabilities.
• Ensure requirements are clear, consistent, testable, and traceable to customer needs, standards, and DO-178C DAL C objectives.
• Decompose and allocate system requirements to software components and interfaces, maintaining end-to-end traceability from high-level requirements through design and test.
• Manage requirements baselines and changes, performing impact analyses on architecture, design, integration, and verification activities.
• Maintain requirements traceability matrices and support audits and reviews focused on requirements completeness and consistency.

System Architecture & Design

• Develop and refine system and software architectures for XFS configurations, including modular display components, data interfaces, and integration with avionics systems.
• Define and maintain interface control documents (ICDs) and data models for integration with sensors, flight management systems, and other avionics subsystems.
• Collaborate with software engineers to ensure the architecture and requirements support performance, safety, configurability, and maintainability goals.
• Analyze system behavior and performance, including resource usage, timing, and reliability in embedded/real-time environments.

Safety-Critical & Standards-Driven Engineering

• Apply DO-178C and related aerospace standards and guidance to systems engineering and requirements activities.
• Support the development of plans, standards, and guidelines (e.g., requirements standards, architecture guidelines) for XFS-based solutions.
• Participate in safety, hazard, and risk analyses; derive safety-related requirements and constraints and ensure they are properly captured and traced.
• Contribute to compliance evidence by producing and reviewing systems engineering and requirements artifacts required for audits and certification reviews.

Verification, Validation & Test Support

• Define and maintain verification and validation strategies, including mapping of system and software requirements to test plans and procedures.
• Develop and review test plans, procedures, and cases, ensuring they provide adequate coverage of requirements and key operational scenarios.
• Support integration and system test activities, including anomaly investigation, root cause analysis, and requirements-focused corrective actions.
• Work closely with test engineers to evaluate test results, confirm requirement satisfaction, and improve test effectiveness and traceability.

Agile Collaboration & Technical Leadership

• Participate in agile ceremonies (backlog refinement, sprint planning, daily standups, reviews, retrospectives) representing systems and requirements engineering concerns.
• Collaborate with software engineers, human-factors/UX specialists, and customer stakeholders to refine features and ensure they meet operational needs and certification constraints.
• Lead or contribute to technical reviews (requirements reviews, architecture/design reviews, test readiness reviews) to ensure quality and compliance.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to junior systems engineers and cross-functional team members on requirements and systems engineering best practices.

Documentation, Configuration Management & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and maintain systems engineering documentation, including requirements specifications, architecture descriptions, ICDs, and verification reports.
• Ensure systems engineering and requirements artifacts are properly baselined, controlled, and integrated with configuration management tools and processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve requirements management, architecture practices, and verification workflows, and help implement process and tool enhancements.
• Support customer interactions and technical presentations, clearly communicating requirements rationale, system capabilities, constraints, and trade-offs.

Qualifications


Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field and five (5) years' experience; Additional six (6) years' experience can be considered in lieu of degree.

Clearance Requirements

• Must hold, or be eligible to obtain and hold, security clearance of Secret or higher; US Citizenship required.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Typically 5-10+ years of experience in systems engineering or closely related roles, preferably on complex software-intensive or avionics systems.
• Strong experience in requirements engineering: elicitation, analysis, decomposition, allocation, baselining, and traceability.
• Experience developing system and software architectures, defining interfaces, and working with multidisciplinary teams to realize designs.
• Familiarity with DO-178B/C concepts and the role of systems engineering and requirements management in safety-critical software development and certification.
• Experience collaborating closely with software engineering teams; ability to understand and discuss software design and implementation trade-offs in the context of requirements.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to perform impact analyses and resolve complex integration and requirement issues.
• Proficiency with requirements management practices and tools (e.g., traceability matrices, baseline control, change management).
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with experience producing technical documentation and participating in formal reviews.

Preferred

• Experience in aerospace, avionics, or other safety-critical domains (e.g., flight displays, flight management systems, or navigation/mission systems).
• Direct experience supporting DO-178C DAL C or higher programs, including certification evidence preparation and audit support.
• Hands-on experience with requirements management tools, preferably IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS (DOORS Classic or DOORS Next Generation).
• Experience with configuration management and issue tracking tools (e.g., Git-based repositories, Jira).
• Experience with Microsoft Azure DevOps for work item tracking, requirements organization, and coordination with development and test pipelines.
• Familiarity with scripting or basic programming (e.g., Python, C) to support data analysis, requirements verification, or tool integration.
• Prior experience mentoring engineers or acting as a technical lead for systems and requirements engineering activities.

Target salary range: $80,001 - $120,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.

Overview


SAIC accepts applications on an ongoing basis and there is no deadline.

SAIC® is a premier mission integrator focused on advancing the power of technology and innovation to serve and protect our world. Our robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, intelligence, and civilian markets includes secure high-end solutions in mission IT, enterprise IT, engineering services, and professional services. We integrate emerging technology, rapidly and securely, into mission critical operations that modernize and enable critical national imperatives.


We are approximately 23,000 strong; driven by mission, united by purpose, and inspired by opportunities. SAIC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $7.3 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For ongoing news, please visit our newsroom.