Lead Systems Engineer

Lead Systems Engineer – Job Description

Job Title: Lead Systems Engineer
Department: Engineering
Reports To: Program Manager and Engineering Director
FLSA Status: Exempt / Full-time

Salary Range: $125,000 - $175,000 Annually (depending on experience)

ROLE

We are seeking a senior Lead Systems Engineer to define system architectures, develop and manage requirements, and guide integration and verification activities across multiple interconnected products. This role oversees system-level consistency and performance, ensures alignment to program commitments, and coordinates work across hardware, software, and test teams. The ideal candidate brings extensive experience in military communication systems, strong skills in interface control and lifecycle engineering, and the ability to drive technical execution in a schedule‑driven environment. Experience with Navy or other DoD programs is highly desirable.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead end‑to‑end systems engineering activities across multiple related communication systems, including architecture definition, requirements development, interface management, risk assessment, verification planning, and formal design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, PRR/FDR, TRR).
• Establish, decompose, and maintain system‑level requirements with full traceability to customer specifications, derived constraints, verification methods, and subsystem allocations.
• Help coordinate technical execution across internal teams and external suppliers, ensuring consistent system architecture, controlled interfaces, synchronized schedules, and delivery of verified, compliant system capabilities.
• Develop and maintain key system artifacts such as system block diagrams, ICDs, data flow representations, verification matrices, integration strategies, and detailed test plans.
• Lead and facilitate technical interchange meetings (TIMs), multi‑discipline design reviews, peer reviews, and supplier technical performance assessments, with emphasis on verification readiness and test completeness.
• Collaborate closely with software, hardware, test engineering, manufacturing, configuration management, and program management teams to ensure cohesive system behavior and robust verification coverage across the lifecycle.
• Provide leadership in configuration control, verification tools, requirements management tools, and continuous improvement of systems engineering processes, particularly around test and verification discipline supporting AS9100-compliant engineering processes.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to the growth, consistency, and maturity of the systems engineering discipline across the organization.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Strong proficiency in full‑lifecycle systems engineering for embedded communication systems, with the ability to operate effectively in a fixed‑price, schedule‑driven environment while supporting Agile development practices.
• Hands‑on experience defining, refining, and maintaining traceable requirements baselines, performing system modeling and analysis, and executing verification in alignment with contractual commitments.
• Solid background in high-speed serial communication technologies and mixed hardware/software architectures, including integration considerations for embedded processors and high‑speed communication buses.
• Demonstrated capability to support architecture definition, system decomposition, design reviews, and configuration‑controlled updates throughout a HW/SW system’s lifecycle.
• Help manage program and engineering workflows using Jira, including sprint planning, backlog grooming, dashboard/report creation, and cross‑team coordination to ensure project transparency and execution discipline.
• Strong understanding of embedded systems, HW/SW integration, interface control, and data‑driven decision making across complex system interactions.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills, with the ability to clearly present technical information to customers, program leadership, and cross‑functional teams.

PREFERRED SKILLS

• Direct experience supporting Navy or other DoD research, development, or acquisition programs.
• Familiarity with requirements management tools such as Jama, DOORS, or equivalent.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams and aligning Agile development activities with fixed‑price contractual deliverables.
• Knowledge of environmental qualification standards and test methods, including MIL‑STD‑461/MIL‑STD‑810.
• Understanding of configuration management practices and modern digital engineering toolchains.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Engineering or related field.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience.
• US Person required; ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance.
• Position located in Melbourne, FL (not remote).