Strategic SATCOM Senior Systems Engineering and Integration Engineer Lead

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

At Aerospace, we are committed to providing an inclusive and diverse workplace for all employees to share in our common passion and aspiration – to carry out a mission much bigger than ourselves.

The Defense Systems Group (DSG) provides analysis-based decision support to senior leaders on space architectures, policy and strategy, developmental planning, system of systems engineering, and threat reduction to help shape future space missions across the national security space enterprise. DSG is unique at Aerospace as it not only directly supports major customers, including Air Force Space Command, U.S. Strategic Command, Air Force Materiel Command, and senior leadership at the Pentagon, but also provides a broad range of services and support across the national space enterprise, maintaining vertical responsibilities with customers but also horizontal, matrixed responsibilities across the corporation.

The ESS Program Office is seeking a highly motivated Sr. Project Leader (Systems Engineering - Acquisition and Systems Engineering) to work within an integrated program office of Space Force, Aerospace, and contractor personnel in support of Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) system acquisition. In the role, you’ll apply engineering expertise in support of systems engineering, integration, and test strategies for prototyping, development, and fielding phases of the program, ensuring synchronization and integration of government, ESS segment contractors, and other strategic collaborators. The candidate will be responsible tasking, leading program office and ETG SMEs, the customer, and contractors, to ensure technical solutions proposed will meet the needs of the program

Work Model - The position requires mostly in-office work in Classified environments in our El, Segundo CA location, with the opportunity for occasional telework.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Acts as spokesperson for working group, advising the customer including ESS program leadership in formulating, evaluating, and overseeing understanding of system requirements and system engineering practices
• Providing insight to Aerospace leadership and the customer on risks, issues, opportunities and associated mitigation strategies and corrective actions
• Responsible for ensuring successful execution of systems integration efforts between space, ground, and crypto segments of the ESS program
• Applying systems engineering, requirements, and test & validation standard methodologies to assist the customer in development of acquisition documents required for execution of space, ground, and crypto acquisition efforts
• Shaping requirements definition for the ESS System including development, coordination, and approval of system capability documents, system requirements documents, and interface control documents
• Assessing mission trades between segments and products for system-level design reviews to help identify optimal systems architecture designs
• Maintaining effective working relationships with customer leadership, capability-delivering contractors, ETG and other program office support organizations, including the creation of technical materials and the ability to present to key stakeholders and senior leaders
• Leading the Aerospace team in the execution of the systems engineering, integration, and test responsibilities, to include the coordination of subject matter experts and the integration of inputs to provide corporate and customer leadership with technical advice
• Acts as a senior mentor to team members, providing technical guidance to staff in both technical duties and program office responsibilities as well as development insights
• Providing oversight and management of program staffing budgets, including the identification and recruitment of subject matter experts to support systems acquisition activities

What You Need to be Successful - Sr. Project Leader (Systems Engineering - Acquisition and Systems Engineering )

• 12 or more years of increasingly responsible relevant professional engineering/scientific experience working across government prog