Software Project Engineer

Role Description

The Software Project Engineer provides program-level technical coordination across multiple engineering teams and major subsystems. This role leads the integration strategy for complex engineering efforts, ensuring all disciplines (hardware, software, systems, avionics, test, and manufacturing) remain synchronized toward key program milestones and deliverables.

The Software Project Engineer drives the sequencing, communication structure, and integration readiness required for multi-phase product development. They identify cross-team impacts early, maintain forward-looking plans, and ensure engineering execution is organized, predictable, and aligned with the program’s technical objectives. This role also mentors the broader Project Engineering team and acts as a technical counterpart to program leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical integration across multiple subsystems or entire vehicle-level engineering efforts.
• Develop and maintain the engineering execution plan, including multi-workstream schedules, integration checkpoints, build/release, and milestone readiness tracking criteria.
• Ensure cross-functional alignment by running structured coordination cadences across hardware, software, systems, avionics, test, and manufacturing.
• Own technical readiness for engineering reviews (CoDR, PDR, CDR, TRR), ensuring all disciplines meet entry/exit criteria.
• Serve as the primary engineering integration counterpart to Program Management, providing visibility into progress, constraints, required decisions, and software delivery risk across integration, regression, configuration, and schedule.
• Coordinate engineering deliverables that span multiple IPTs or disciplines, ensuring consistency and preventing disconnects.
• Influence requirement interpretation, design impacts, and verification planning alongside systems engineering.
• Plan and coordinate system-level integration events, prototype builds, lab testing, flight test preparation, and production release activities.
• Identify roadblocks and bottlenecks to project execution and determine a course of action to eliminate or avoid them.
• Lead recovery planning and execution for off-schedule activities, integration issues, and unexpected program challenges.
• Drive structured communication practices across all teams, ensuring predictable updates, clear next steps, and documentation continuity for software releases and configuration/change documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or another STEM-related discipline.
• 7+ years of experience in delivering software initiatives through project engineering, technical program coordination, or engineering operations.
• Demonstrated capability leading complex, multi-disciplinary engineering efforts, major product subsystems, or software programs with significant integration scope.
• High-integration hardware/software industry experience.
• Deep understanding of software and system engineering lifecycles, design reviews, and verification processes.
• Ability to interpret system architectures, interface definitions, and technical requirements across domains.
• Expertise building and maintaining multi-layered schedules and integration sequences.
• Strong competency leading cross-functional meetings and producing structured technical documentation.
• Experience coordinating software integration activities, lab integration, system-level testing, or test readiness.
• High-level communication and stakeholder management skills, especially with senior engineers and leadership teams.
• Strong technical problem-solving skills with the ability to identify integration risks and drive resolution across multiple teams.
• Proven ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, ambiguous development environments while maintaining organization, accountability, and execution rigor.
• Demonstrated leadership within engineering execution; capable of mentoring and uplifting the broader PE team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related STEM field.
• Aerospace, UAS, aviation, defense, autonomous systems, robotics, or other highly integrated hardware/software development experience.
• Professional certifications such as PMP, CAPM, INCOSE ASEP/CSEP, Agile, or related technical leadership credentials.
• Experience coordinating across multiple development sites or geographically distributed engineering teams.
• Background supporting system-level verification campaigns, flight test phases, or major integration events that include software and system readiness.
• Experience supporting customer-facing technical integration meetings.
• Familiarity with requirements management tools (DOORS, Jama, JIRA Align).
• Experience with PLM/PDM systems, configuration control, and engineering change management.
• Ability to analyze and communicate impacts related to requirements flowdown, interface changes, verification status, and software releases.
• Experience presenting technical status, risks, and recommendations to executive leadership, customers, or external stakeholders.
• Highly adept at modeling “how information should flow” across complex programs.
• Ability to maintain composure and structure in high-uncertainty or fast-moving environments.

Benefits

• Matching 401(k)
• Paid PTO
• Paid holidays
• Medical, vision, and dental insurance
• Group Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• HSA and FSA Options
• Critical Care Plan
• Accident Care Plan
• Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESSP)