Senior Principal Secure Systems Engineer

Date Posted:

2026-03-17

Country:

United States of America

Location:

US-IA-CEDAR RAPIDS-137 ~ 855 35Th St NE ~ BLDG 137

Position Role Type:

Onsite

U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements:

Active and transferable U.S. government issued security clearance is required prior to start date.​ U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance​

Security Clearance Type:

DoD Clearance: Secret

Security Clearance Status:

Active and existing security clearance required on day 1

Our nation's security depends on the sacrifice of the men and women who defend our country. For them to do this effectively, they need technology that keeps them a step ahead of their adversaries. This means providing secure yet technologically advanced equipment to our service personnel, fielded as quickly as possible. Our commitment is to do precisely that.

The Secure Subsystems Engineering team seeks a Secure Systems Engineer with a passion for innovation and the drive to see new technology and capability mature into fielded solutions. The Secure Systems Engineer is focused on developing the right thing and leading the project on design tradeoffs and decisions. The Secure Systems Engineer is a technical leader embedded within Systems Engineering, supporting multiple programs on technical guidance, collaborating with other Engineering Leaders to deliver solutions. This role will contribute to a team responsible for systems and cyber security engineering tasks related to our next-generation security-enabled mission computing, and cryptographic products, maturing products from low TRL through a program of record accreditation and factory production. 

What YOU will do:

• Lead and mentor Systems and Cyber Engineers through Design and Development efforts.

• Manage NSA Certification Processes for Digital Hardware, typically embedded into a host, to provide cryptographic functionality

• Communicate with multiple levels of management, team members, and customers.

• Interface with multiple Hardware and Software Teams to work through dependencies and technical challenges.

• Monitor and assess project issues, escalate when necessary, and develop resolutions to meet productivity, quality, and customer-satisfaction goals and objectives.

• Provide support for proposal and bids and using estimation tools.

What YOU will learn:

• You will gain technical leadership experience, mentorship opportunities, and exposure to very influential individuals within Mission Systems that will help advance your career.

• You will obtain invaluable experience working with our security and crypto certification specialists, our customer base, and cross-functional integrated product team.

• You can take flight to becoming knowledgeable in security hardened products with exposure to the variety of business and products in an ever-evolving field. We are growing, so can you!

Qualifications You Must Have: 

• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 10 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 7 years of experience

• Active and transferable U.S. government issued Secret security clearance is required prior to start date.

• U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.

Qualifications We Prefer: 

• Exceptionally strong communication skills, experience presenting technical data to program management.

• Exceptionally strong Systems Engineering skills, from product design to qualification and certification.

• Experience with the NSA Certification Process.

• Experience operating as a Product Owner in an Agile Environment.

• Experience with Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) concepts and tools.

• Experience capturing customer requirements, design concept development, and deriving and tracing system and sub-system level requirements.

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio, and expertise to solve customers’ toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market.

Do you want to be a part of something bigger? A team whose impact stretches across the world, and even beyond? At Collins Aerospace, our Mission Systems team helps civilian, military and gover