Lead Systems Engineer Senior Principal

Job ID: 2616357

Location: Patuxent River, MD, US

Date Posted: 2026-08-31

Category: Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory: Systems Engineer

Schedule: Full-Time

Shift: Day Job

Travel: Yes - 10% of the time

Minimum Clearance Required: Secret

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: None

Potential for Remote Work: ORA_ON_SITE


Description


SAIC is seeking an FMS Lead Systems Engineer for all Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Programs supporting PMA251 Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment Program Office. In this role, you will provide Engineering Support to customer FMS teams to include the integration of EMALS and AAG on the Future French Carrier, and provide direct support and technical recommendations to the PMA251 FMS Lead, Case Manager, and Class Desk.


Duties & Responsibilities:

• Review, analysis, and acceptance of all engineering documents (ex. SOW, Prime Contractor CDRLs, technical proposals, SETR planning, technical maturity, etc.) for accuracy and compliance with requirements as defined by the FMS Case. Includes detailed technical review and recommendation of alternatives to address deficiencies in the proposed documentation.
• Coordinate meetings as requested that require participation from Contractor(s) and/or the PMA domestic team.
• As required, participate in PMRs, technical reviews, technical coordination meetings, Working Groups, conferences, briefings, and other significant program activities. This consists of any preparation work (ex. briefing material) and tracking engineering action items associated with the aforementioned items. Identify and analyze the issues discussed, record action items, recommend courses of action, input action items and recommendations into the Program Management Databases.
• Coordinate with multiple disciplines as required to prepare or review the technical documentation, proposals, investigations, analyses, needed to support the baseline FMS program, ECPs, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), requirements/requirement changes, Product Test Verifications, and other appropriate documentation for all systems applicable to the FMS customer, as well as for FMS unique systems.
• Review, analyze and track specifications and data packages; review suitability/supportability documentation; review and provide technical recommendations on ECPs and Technical Directives; and participate in technical working groups to resolve any engineering issues. Assist with the development of appropriate engineering documentation, formal letters, informal memos and other general correspondence.
• Facilitate communications across all stakeholders (PMA IPTs, FMS, USN, Contractor, FST, etc.). Includes Executive-level communication to liaison between Engineering teams and Program Leadership.
• Leadership of, and participation in, technical meetings between varying government, contractor, and other stakeholders.
• Research, analysis, trade studies, and collection of data necessary to support decision making on both engineering and programmatic decision making.
• Participation in, or leadership of, Systems Engineering Technical Review (SETR) events.
• Review and assessment of operational requirements and ensuring consistency throughout budgetary processes.
• Evaluation of cost, schedule, and performance impacts of incorporation of new technologies into existing systems. Includes assessing and presenting findings to the government leadership team on expected operational and programmatic impacts
• Understand and implement the NAVAIR FMS process and ensure compliance with policy documentation.
• International Travel is required.

Qualifications


Required Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree and 15+ years of relevant Systems Engineering experience.
• Ability to communicate with all levels of stakeholders both verbally and in writing.
• Clearance Requirement: with the ability to obtain a DOD Secret clearance.
• International Travel is required.

Desired Skills & Experience:

• Degree in engineering or related scientific/technical discipline.
• Experience supporting foreign military sales (FMS) and engineering leadership.
• Prior Systems Engineering APMSE support experience desired.
• Experience with one or more of NAVAIR's Systems Engineering Technical Reviews (SETR), Systems Engineering Transformation (SET) initiative, Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) processes, and Airworthiness/Cybersafe processes.?

Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.

SAIC is a premier technology integrator providing full life cycle services and solutions in the technical, engineering, intelligence, and enterprise information technology markets. SAIC is Redefining Ingenuity through its deep customer and domain knowledge to enable the delivery of systems engineering and integration offerings for large, complex projects. SAIC's approximately 15,000 employees are driven by integrity and mission focus to serve customers in the U.S. federal government. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $4.5 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For information on the benefits SAIC offers, see .