Lead Systems Engineer

Responsibilities

Peraton is seeking a senior-level Lead Systems Engineer to lead the Systems Engineering Integration and Test (SEIT) team and oversee all activities related to Verification & Validation (V&V), Integration and Test (I&T), External Interface Engineering, and other core Systems Engineering execution for advanced Satellite Ground Systems.

 

The Office of Space Weather Observations (SWO) under NESDIS is responsible for advancing space weather observational capabilities to meet NOAA programmatic needs. NOAA’s Space Weather Next (SWX) program maintains and extends space weather observations from various vantage points, selected to most efficiently provide comprehensive knowledge of the Sun and the near-Earth space environment needed to protect our technological infrastructure.

 

 The Space Weather Ground Services (SWGS) is responsible for comprehensive ground services for all SWX projects, ensuring successful implementation and operation of observing assets and ensuring the continuity of space weather measurements made by SWFO-L1 and the GOES-R series satellites.

 

 The SWGS Mission Operations Services (MOS) program must provide a full mission satellite command and control solution to support the L1 Series with two new independently launched observatories.

 

This role serves as a technical authority and team leader responsible for ensuring that system requirements, architecture, integration, and verification activities are executed with rigor and aligned with program objectives. The selected candidate will guide cross-disciplinary engineering teams, coordinate with program leadership and customers, and ensure that complex systems are successfully integrated, validated, and delivered.

The ideal candidate brings deep systems engineering expertise, proven leadership experience, and a strong background supporting mission-critical space or ground system programs.

 

 

Systems Engineering Leadership

• Serve as the technical lead for systems engineering, integration, and verification activities across the program.
• Lead and mentor engineers responsible for requirements management, system integration, interface engineering, and verification.
• Drive execution of the Systems Engineering Management Plan (SEMP), ensure adherence to established engineering processes and program standards, and lead development of review plans with full participation in program life-cycle reviews.
• Provide strategic direction in close coordination with System Architects for system architecture, integration strategy, and technical execution.
• Support program leadership in technical planning, decision making, and risk management.

Requirements Development & Management

• Lead the development of quantifiable system requirements derived from customer needs, system planning, design, and acquisition logistics.
• Ensure requirements comply with functional and performance specifications through formal verification methods.
• Translate high-level product strategies into detailed system and subsystem requirements, coordinating across engineering disciplines.
• Maintain traceability of requirements across the system lifecycle using approved tools and processes.
• Validate allocated requirements to ensure system architecture and implementation satisfy mission needs.

Integration & Interface Engineering

• Lead system and subsystem integration planning and execution, including hardware, software, and network components.
• Define and manage external and internal interfaces across program elements and partner systems.
• Ensure integration readiness through coordination across development teams, infrastructure, and operations.
• Oversee system component integration activities and resolve cross-system technical challenges.

Verification, Validation & Test

• Lead the development and execution of system-level verification and validation strategies.
• Develop system-level requirements verification procedures and customer acceptance test criteria.
• Review and approve integration and test plans, procedures, and results to ensure contractual and mission objectives are met.
• Participate in and oversee testing activities to validate requirements and system performance.
• Establish metrics, evaluation criteria, and technical performance measures (TPMs) to assess system readiness.

Architecture, Performance & System Design